Transcatheter Valve Implant Rotation and Self-Expansion Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transcatheter techniques for delivering and deploying prosthetic heart valves face challenges in engaging, loading, translating, repositioning, resheathing, and deploying expandable stents within heart chambers efficiently.
Innovation Solution
The development of an implant apparatus with a self-expandable design using superelastic materials like NiTiCu and a swivel body mechanism for controlled deployment, allowing for precise positioning and rotation of the implant within the heart chamber.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a prosthetic valve is mounted within a stented frame that is collapsed and advanced through a sheath, then the valve can be delivered percutaneously to the heart, but the frame must be expanded and positioned precisely within the heart chamber
Solution Approach 1:
The stented frame is designed to transition from a collapsed state during delivery to an expanded state at the deployment site. This dynamic transformation allows the frame to be compressed for percutaneous access while automatically expanding to provide precise positioning and structural support at the heart valve location
Solution Approach 2:
The prosthetic valve is pre-mounted within the stented frame in a collapsed configuration before delivery. This preliminary preparation allows the entire assembly to be advanced through the sheath and delivery catheter to the target site, after which the frame is expanded to secure the valve in its final positioned state
2Productivity
If the stented frame is released from the catheter and expanded with the valve, then the valve achieves functional size, but controlling the expansion and positioning becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery system is divided into distinct functional components: the stented frame, the prosthetic valve, the sheath, and the delivery catheter. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while working together as an integrated system for controlled deployment
Solution Approach 2:
The stented frame with the mounted prosthetic valve is nested within the sheath, which in turn is positioned within the delivery catheter. This nested configuration allows all components to be advanced together through the vasculature and enables controlled deployment at the target site by sequentially releasing constraints
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
Enables efficient and controlled delivery and deployment of prosthetic heart valves, enhancing the precision and effectiveness of transcatheter procedures by allowing for rotational alignment and secure anchoring within the heart chamber.
Implementation Method 1
The development of an implant apparatus with a self-expandable design using superelastic materials like NiTiCu
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and methods for an implant are provided. The implant may have a constrained configuration and a relaxed configuration. The implant may include a strut having an end that may be captured by a hub and may define a reference angle in the relaxed configuration. The implant may include a swivel body that may engage a shaft of a delivery cable and may be rotated through the reference angle. The apparatus may include a pusher catheter to push the implant. The delivery cable may engage the implant. The apparatus may include gauge handle that may include a force gauge to indicate the presence of a force acting on the implant. The apparatus may include a bushing that may be fixed to an end of a pusher catheter. The bushing may move along a delivery catheter lumen and may guide the implant to a keyed position at the bushing.