Self-Expanding Prosthetic Heart Valve Docking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical methods for replacing deficient prosthetic heart valves are invasive, risky, and often require additional surgeries, which can lead to complications and increased mortality, especially in younger patients or those with physical weaknesses.
Innovation Solution
The development of prosthetic heart valves with expandable stents that can be percutaneously delivered and docked onto existing valves, allowing for functional replacement without physically removing the previous valve, using self-expanding or balloon-expandable designs that can be deployed within the heart via minimally invasive techniques.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional surgical methods are used to replace deficient prosthetic heart valves, then the valve can be replaced with a new prosthesis, but the procedure is invasive, risky, and requires cardiopulmonary bypass with high mortality risk
Solution Approach 1:
A delivery catheter serves as an intermediary device to transport the collapsible prosthetic heart valve through the blood vessel to the target location, avoiding direct surgical access to the heart. The catheter enables percutaneous delivery of the valve prosthesis, eliminating the need for open-heart surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass.
Solution Approach 2:
The prosthetic heart valve is designed in a collapsible state that allows it to be nested within the delivery catheter. The valve prosthesis can be compressed to a small diameter, fitted inside the catheter lumen, and then deployed at the target location by expanding from the collapsed state to the functional state.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional surgical techniques are used for valve replacement, then the new valve can be implanted, but additional surgery is required to remove the old valve which increases complexity and risk
Solution Approach 1:
The new prosthetic heart valve is designed to be implanted in conjunction with the existing valve structure rather than requiring its removal. The delivery system allows the new valve to be positioned within or adjacent to the old valve, combining both structures into a single implantation procedure that eliminates the need for separate removal surgery.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If percutaneous delivery is used to implant prosthetic heart valves, then surgical risk is reduced, but the valve must be deliverable through a catheter which requires collapsible design
Solution Approach 1:
The prosthetic heart valve is designed with dynamic characteristics, transitioning from a collapsible state during delivery to an expanded functional state at the implantation site. The valve structure can be compressed axially for delivery through the catheter and then radially expanded to its functional configuration, allowing percutaneous implantation while maintaining proper valve function.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enables the replacement of deficient prosthetic heart valves with reduced surgical risk, avoiding the need for invasive procedures and minimizing complications by using existing valve structures as a platform for mounting new valves, thus improving patient safety and reducing recovery morbidity.
Implementation Method 1
a stent having a compressed state and a radially expanded state
Implementation Method 2
In one embodiment, the stent is a self-expanding stent made of a shape memory alloy
Data Source
Figure 1~5
Figure 6
Figure 7~10
AI summary
A replacement prosthetic heart valve for engagement with a structure of a previously implanted prosthetic heart valve (10), the replacement heart valve including a stent structure (30) and at least two leaflets attached within the interior area of a tubular body portion of the stent structure. The stent structure includes a generally tubular body portion having an interior area, at least two upper flange portions (36) for positioning at an outflow end of the previously implanted heart valve, wherein the upper flange portions extend radially outward from the tubular body portion and are biased toward an inflow end of the replacement heart valve, and at least one lower flange portion (38) for positioning at an inflow end of the previously implanted heart valve, wherein the lower flange portions extend radially outward from the tubular body portion and are biased toward an outflow end of the replacement heart valve.