Prosthetic Valve Leaflet Attachment for Better Coaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Collapsible prosthetic heart valves face issues with inadequate coaptation of heart valve leaflets due to anatomical variations, leading to increased stresses, valve failure, and inefficiencies such as perivalvular leakage and regurgitation, especially when deployed in patients with uneven calcification or irregular anatomy.
Innovation Solution
The leaflets are predominantly attached to a cuff rather than the stent struts, allowing for better adjustment to anatomical variations and reducing stress on the cuff by distributing load through a specific suturing pattern that maintains flexibility and minimizes overlap with the cuff.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If leaflets are attached directly to stent struts, then structural support is improved, but stress concentration and valve failure risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a cuff as an intermediary component between the stent struts and the leaflets. The cuff distributes the mechanical stress from the leaflets across a larger surface area of the stent, preventing stress concentration at specific attachment points. This mediator structure maintains structural support while reducing the risk of valve failure due to stress concentration.
2Stability of the object's composition
If valve structure is made rigid for stability, then structural stability is improved, but adaptability to anatomical variations deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by making different parts of the valve structure have different mechanical properties. The stent framework maintains rigidity for structural stability, while the cuff and leaflet attachments are designed with flexibility to adapt to anatomical variations. This allows the valve to maintain overall stability while locally accommodating patient-specific anatomical differences.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If delivery device size is reduced for less invasive procedure, then invasiveness is reduced, but valve control and deployment precision deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the valve into distinct modular components (stent, cuff, leaflets) that can be independently controlled during deployment. This segmentation allows the delivery device to manipulate each component separately, maintaining deployment precision even with a smaller, less invasive delivery system. The modular design enables staged deployment and better control within a compact delivery apparatus.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
A prosthetic heart valve includes a stent having a collapsed condition and an expanded condition. The stent includes a plurality of cells, each cell being formed by a plurality of struts, and a plurality of commissure features. The heart valve further includes a valve assembly secured to the stent and including a cuff and a plurality of leaflets, each leaflet being attached to adjacent commissure features and to the stent struts and/or the cuff.