Mitral Annulus Anchor Wire Implant for Percutaneous Valve Repair
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical methods for mitral valve repair are invasive and risky, limiting their applicability to high-risk patients, while percutaneous devices for mitral valve repair face challenges in securing and anchoring due to the amorphous shape and lack of lumen walls, making successful percutaneous mitral valve replacement difficult.
Innovation Solution
A device with a tissue engaging member and anchors that conform to the heart valve annulus shape, featuring a loop of wire and multiple anchors with pointy ends and slots, secured by implantation into the tissue to resist extraction, allowing for less invasive mitral valve repair.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If percutaneous devices are used for mitral valve repair, then patient invasiveness is reduced, but device anchoring and securing becomes difficult due to the amorphous shape of the annulus and lack of lumen walls
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into multiple discrete anchors distributed around the annulus rather than a single continuous structure. Each anchor independently engages the tissue, providing distributed securing that adapts to the amorphous annular geometry while maintaining reliable attachment through multiple engagement points
Solution Approach 2:
Each anchor is designed with specific local features (pointy front end for penetration, barbs for engagement, slots for wire passage) that optimize its function. The anchors have non-uniform geometry tailored to their specific engagement requirements, with the front end optimized for tissue penetration and the body optimized for secure retention
2Reliability
If anchors with barbs are used to secure the device, then device stability is improved, but tissue damage during implantation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pointy front end of each anchor is designed to penetrate the tissue first, creating a pilot path before the barbed portion engages. This preliminary penetration action separates the high-force penetration event from the retention event, allowing the barbs to engage in a controlled manner that minimizes additional tissue damage while maintaining stability
Solution Approach 2:
The anchor geometry is inverted relative to conventional designs, with the pointy end facing forward for penetration and the barbed portion trailing behind. This inversion allows the anchor to be pushed into tissue with the smooth pointy end first, then the barbs engage the tissue as the anchor is fully inserted, reducing the force required for implantation while maintaining secure retention
Data Source
AI summary
A system for use at an annulus of a valve of a heart of a subject comprises an implant and an implant-positioning device. The implant comprises (i) a wire; (ii) multiple anchors, slidably mounted in series along the wire, each of the anchors having: a slot through which the wire is threaded, and a pointy front end; and (iii) multiple tubes, the wire being threaded through each of the tubes such that the multiple tubes are slidably mounted on the wire alternatingly with the multiple anchors. The implant-positioning device is configured to implant the implant in the heart with the wire positioned along the annulus by, for each of the anchors: (i) positioning the anchor at the annulus, and (ii) using a deployment mechanism of the implant-positioning device, driving the pointy front end of the anchor into the annulus. Other embodiments are also described.