Prosthetic Heart Valve Anchoring for Smaller Catheter Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transcatheter valve prostheses require large delivery systems, particularly for mitral and tricuspid valve replacements, due to their size and lack of effective anchoring and sealing mechanisms, leading to challenges in deployment and potential paravalvular leakage.
Innovation Solution
A prosthetic heart valve design with structural features that securely anchor to native heart valve anatomy, including anterior and posterior flaps and arms, and a deployment system using deflectable catheters to facilitate delivery through smaller catheters, ensuring robust migration resistance and improved sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If transcatheter valve prostheses are designed with traditional tubular frames, then they can be compressed into catheters, but they require large delivery systems (e.g., 45 French catheter size)
Solution Approach 1:
The valve prosthesis is divided into multiple collapsible segments or sections that can be independently compressed and expanded. The frame is segmented into radial spokes that can be collapsed inward for delivery and then expanded outward for deployment, enabling passage through smaller catheters while maintaining structural integrity during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve frame incorporates dynamic, movable components that transition between compressed and expanded states. The frame includes flexible struts and expandable elements that can be manipulated during delivery and then locked into place during deployment, allowing the same structure to adapt to both small delivery catheters and functional deployment requirements.
2Reliability
If valve prostheses are made with larger profiles for mitral and tricuspid valve replacement, then they provide sufficient anchoring and sealing, but they require larger delivery catheters
Solution Approach 1:
The valve prosthesis employs a nested structure where the functional elements (anchoring features and sealing mechanisms) are contained within a compact, collapsible frame. The anchoring arms and sealing leaflets are nested within the radial frame structure, allowing the entire assembly to be compressed to a small delivery profile while maintaining sufficient anchoring and sealing capabilities when deployed.
Solution Approach 2:
The valve design utilizes three-dimensional spatial arrangement to achieve functional requirements without increasing the delivery profile. The anchoring arms extend in specific spatial directions and the sealing leaflets are positioned to contact the valve annulus from optimized angles, allowing effective anchoring and sealing within a compact radial profile that can be delivered through smaller catheters.
3Reliability
If traditional valve designs are used without specialized anchoring features, then the structure is simpler, but migration resistance is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The valve frame incorporates localized anchoring features at specific positions where they are most effective. The anchoring arms are strategically positioned to engage with the valve annulus at critical locations, providing targeted migration resistance without requiring complex anchoring mechanisms throughout the entire structure. This localized approach maintains simplicity while achieving reliable anchoring.
Data Source
AI summary
Prosthetic heart valves may be delivered to a targeted native heart valve site via one or more delivery catheters. In some embodiments, the prosthetic heart valve includes structural features that securely anchor the prosthetic heart valve to the anatomy at the site of the native heart valve. Such structural features can provide robust migration resistance. In addition, the prosthetic heart valves can include structural features that improve sealing between the prosthetic valve and native valve anatomy to mitigate paravalvular leakage. In particular implementations, the prosthetic heart valves occupy a small delivery profile, thereby facilitating a smaller delivery catheter system for advancement to the heart. Some delivery catheter systems can include a curved inner catheter to facilitate deployment of the prosthetic heart valve to a native tricuspid valve site via a superior vena cava or inferior vena cava.