Prosthetic Heart Valve Anti-Loop Member for Suture Looping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing prosthetic heart valves face issues with suture looping during implantation, leading to potential damage and improper valve operation due to tangling with commissure posts, which existing holders have not adequately addressed, and are often complex and prone to user error.
Innovation Solution
A prosthetic heart valve system with an anti-loop member made of flexible material, such as superelastic nitinol, that forms a loop around commissure posts to deflect sutures, preventing tangling and providing improved visibility during implantation, and can be easily removed without damaging the valve.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing holders are used to prevent suture looping, then suture looping is addressed, but the device complexity increases and user error becomes more prone
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the anti-looping function from complex holder devices and integrates it directly into the valve structure through simple loops attached to commissure posts. This eliminates the need for separate complex holders while maintaining the ability to prevent suture looping.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces simple loops as intermediary elements between the sutures and commissure posts. These loops act as mediators that deflect sutures away from the commissure posts, preventing tangling without requiring complex mechanical holders.
2Stability of the object's composition
If commissure posts are used to support valve leaflets, then valve structure is maintained, but suture looping occurs during implantation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces loops as intermediary elements that sit between the sutures and the commissure posts. These loops deflect the sutures away from the commissure post tips, preventing the harmful tangling effect while allowing the commissure posts to maintain their structural support function.
Solution Approach 2:
The loops are pre-positioned on the commissure posts before implantation to provide preliminary protection against suture looping. This preventive measure is in place before the sutures are engaged, actively preventing the harmful interaction rather than addressing it after it occurs.
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
The anti-loop member effectively prevents suture looping, simplifies the implantation process, reduces user error, and ensures clear visibility, enhancing the surgical team's ability to secure the valve properly.
Implementation Method 1
A prosthetic heart valve system with an anti-loop member made of flexible material, such as superelastic nitinol
Data Source
AI summary
A prosthetic heart valve system includes a prosthetic heart valve having an inflow side, and an outflow side. The heart valve further includes a base at the inflow side, a plurality of commissure posts and valve leaflets secured to the commissure posts to permit flow through the heart valve. An anti-loop member has a first portion on the inflow side of the heart valve and a second portion on the outflow side of the heart valve. The second portion of the anti-loop member is arranged along each commissure post at the tip of each commissure post, and arranged along at least one commissure post twice to form a loop around all of the commissure posts. The anti-loop member is made of a material sufficiently flexible to be removed from the commissure posts without damaging the heart valve yet rigid enough to retain its shape when coming in contact with sutures.