Transcatheter Mitral Valve Leaflet Clamping for Regurgitation Repair
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for treating mitral valve regurgitation often require invasive surgeries and have limitations in effectively addressing the condition, particularly in cases where leaflet coaptation is impaired due to dilation or calcification, leading to reduced ejection volume and increased heart workload.
Innovation Solution
The development of tissue compression devices and systems that include elongate bodies with tissue engagement devices, such as clamps and actuation members, which can be used to securely grasp and clamp heart valve leaflets, allowing for minimally invasive procedures like transcatheter techniques to repair the valve by suturing or clamping leaflets together, thereby reducing regurgitation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional open heart surgery is used to repair mitral valve, then effective treatment of valve regurgitation can be achieved, but patient trauma and recovery time are significantly increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical open heart surgery approach with a catheter-based delivery system that uses controlled mechanical expansion of an implantable device to achieve valve repair. The device is delivered through a catheter and expanded at the target site to compress the mitral annulus and improve leaflet coaptation, avoiding the need for open surgery while maintaining therapeutic effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an implantable compression device as an intermediary between the catheter delivery system and the mitral valve annulus. This device acts as a mediator that applies controlled compression forces to the annulus to improve leaflet coaptation, enabling minimally invasive treatment while achieving the mechanical effects needed for effective valve repair
2Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive catheter techniques are used, then patient trauma is reduced, but the ability to effectively address severe leaflet coaptation impairment is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs parameter changes by utilizing a compression device that can be expanded to different degrees to apply varying levels of compression force to the mitral annulus. The device allows adjustment of compression parameters to address different severities of annular dilation and leaflet coaptation impairment, enabling effective treatment of severe cases while maintaining minimally invasive access
Solution Approach 2:
The patent incorporates dynamic elements through the expandable compression device that can be deployed and adjusted after catheter delivery. The device transitions from a compressed delivery state to an expanded treatment state, allowing the operator to adapt the treatment approach based on the specific anatomical conditions and severity of the valve pathology
3Reliability
If the mitral annulus is compressed to improve leaflet coaptation, then regurgitation is reduced, but the structural integrity of the annulus may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies beforehand cushioning by designing the compression device with controlled expansion characteristics that gradually apply compression forces to the mitral annulus. The device includes features that distribute compression forces evenly across the annulus to prevent localized stress concentrations that could compromise structural integrity, while still achieving sufficient compression to improve leaflet coaptation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements local quality by designing the compression device to apply compression forces to specific regions of the mitral annulus where dilation is most pronounced. The device can be positioned and oriented to target specific segments of the annulus, allowing selective compression of problematic areas while preserving the structural integrity of the overall annular structure
Data Source
AI summary
An example medical system includes a medical device configured to join the edges of the leaflets together, an elongate body configured to be navigated through vasculature to a heart valve of patient, and a plurality of tissue engagement devices extending from a distal end of the elongate body, each tissue engagement device comprising at least one clamp configured to capture leaflets of the heart valve.