Vascular Conduit with Self-Expanding Flange for Off-Pump Implantation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for inserting vascular conduits, such as apicoaortic conduits, are technically challenging due to the need for sutures in active cardiac and vascular tissue, leading to difficulties in off-pump procedures and high risks of valved conduit failure.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for inserting vascular conduits using a coring device to create an aperture in tissue walls, with a conduit device featuring a flexible flange and securing ring that can be advanced over a guide wire, eliminating the need for sutures and allowing for secure placement without cardio-pulmonary bypass or global cardiac ischemia.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sutures are used to secure the connector in active cardiac tissue, then the connector can be fixed in place, but the procedure becomes technically difficult and unreliable in off-pump cases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the suture requirement from the fixation process by introducing a self-expanding connector that secures itself through radial expansion against the tissue wall. The connector's expansion mechanism eliminates the need for separate suture placement, directly resolving the technical difficulty of securing connectors in active cardiac tissue without sutures.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector performs self-fixation through its self-expanding structure. Once deployed, the connector automatically expands and secures itself to the tissue wall without requiring external suturing actions. This self-service mechanism makes the procedure reliable in off-pump cases where suture placement is particularly difficult.
2Ease of manufacture
If cardio-pulmonary bypass is used to perform the procedure, then better surgical control is achieved, but the procedure complexity and patient risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The self-expanding connector design enables the procedure to be performed in off-pump conditions. The connector's ability to self-secure through radial expansion provides sufficient surgical control without requiring cardio-pulmonary bypass, thereby reducing procedure complexity and patient risk while maintaining adequate control.
3Ease of manufacture
If first-generation bioprostheses are used in the AAC, then the conduit can be constructed, but early valve failures occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite material construction for the valved conduit, combining durable structural materials with biocompatible valve materials. This composite approach, along with improved manufacturing techniques for newer generation bioprostheses, enhances valve reliability and reduces early failure rates while maintaining constructability.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a vascular conduit device including a deformable flange and complementary securing ring in cooperation for securing the device within an aperture defined in a tissue wall. The present invention further provides a system for implanting such a vascular conduit device in a tissue wall. More specifically, the present invention provides a system including a coring device for defining an aperture in a tissue wall (such as a ventricle and/or a blood vessel) and securely implanting a vascular conduit device therein so as to provide fluid communication between a first and second surface of the tissue wall via the vascular conduit device.