Collapsible and Expandable Prosthetic Heart Valves: Latest Innovations

A collapsible prosthetic heart valve that can be collapsed for minimally invasive delivery and expands after implantation. The valve has a collapsible stent with a downstream ring connected by flexible struts near the commissures. This prevents the leaflets from contacting the ring. The stent has a serpentine outflow edge with inner and outer rings. The ring has small connections to the outer ring, allowing leaflets to be inserted between them. This configuration reduces impingement, paravalvular leakage, and leaflet abrasion compared to prior designs.

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Mechanically expandable heart valve implant and delivery system that allows for controlled, precise, and reversible expansion and locking of the valve frame after deployment. The expandable frame has a guide member and base member connected by wires. The delivery system has a sleeve that can push/pull the guide and base members together to expand the valve diameter. The wires can then twist and lock to maintain expansion. The sleeve can be moved to unlock and compress the valve for retrieval if needed.

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Prosthetic heart valve that can be compressed and expanded for transcatheter delivery. The valve has distal, proximal, and septal subannular anchoring elements to secure it in a native valve annulus. The septal element extends below the annulus to stabilize the valve against rotation. This anchoring configuration allows the valve to be side-loaded into a catheter for delivery instead of fully compressing it radially. It is released from the catheter to expand and anchor in the annulus. The septal element pinning the native leaflet prevents dislodgement.

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Percutaneously implantable prosthetic heart valves that can be deployed through minimally invasive procedures. The valves use collapsible stents with docking structures that allow percutaneous delivery and expansion in the heart. The stents have flexible wires and posts that can be compressed for delivery on catheters, then expanded and rotated into position. Valves are attached to the stents with features to distribute stress for durability. The delivery systems allow retrieval and repositioning of partially deployed valves.

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Prosthetic heart valve that can be implanted more quickly and easily than current valves, reducing the time needed on cardiopulmonary bypass. The valve has a two-stage design where a radially expandable base stent anchors to the heart valve annulus first, then a valve component with an expandable coupling stent connects to the base stent.

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Prosthetic heart valve with metal leaflets having pores instead of using biological leaflets. The valve has a collapsible stent, cuff, and metal leaflets that coapt to close the valve and pivot open. The leaflets are made of braided wire or mesh with pores instead of using biological tissue. This allows the valve to be durable and less prone to erosion compared to valves with biological leaflets.

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A delivery apparatus for an expandable prosthetic heart valve that allows precise control of the expansion forces and displacements of the valve when deploying it inside the body. The apparatus has multiple actuation shafts to expand the valve. These are connected through control mechanisms like pulley systems and gears to evenly distribute forces and allow independent movement. A multi-lumen shaft with helical lumens can keep the actuation shafts uniform when curved. This prevents uneven expansion and damage when navigating tortuous anatomy.

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A collapsible prosthetic heart valve for replacing a mitral valve in the heart. The valve has a collapsible stent, a valve assembly, a flange and coupling tubes. The stent has a collapsed condition for delivery and an expanded condition for implantation. The valve assembly is inside the stent. The flange has braided wires and a flared portion. The coupling tubes connect the flange to the stent.

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A prosthetic heart valve with a unique frame design that aims to overcome the drawbacks of current designs. The frame has inner and outer struts that pivot at joints to form a collapsible and expandable structure. The struts have recessed portions at the pivot joints where segments of other struts are seated. This allows the struts to move parallel when compressed instead of shearing like scissors. It also prevents gaps forming between struts in the expanded state.

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A transcatheter prosthetic heart valve that can be side delivered through a small catheter and then expand once deployed in the heart. The valve has a compressible frame with anchoring tabs and a central flow component. The frame is compressed orthogonal to the catheter axis. After release, it expands to engage the native valve annulus. The tabs anchor the valve while the central portion allows unidirectional blood flow.

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Simplified prosthetic heart valves that can be expanded after implantation to accommodate larger expandable prosthetic heart valves for valve-in-valve procedures. The expansion capability is achieved by incorporating two wireform frames, an upper one and a lower one, that can stretch apart slightly upon application of an outward dilatory force. The lower wireform has a shallow undulation that prevents excessive expansion. The upper wireform has inflow cusps and commissure posts while the lower wireform has truncated peaks between them. The wireforms permit limited expansion of the valve diameter upon dilation to receive a larger valve inside.

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Collapsible prosthetic heart valves with improved durability and resistance to wear. The valves have features to reduce abrasion between the leaflets and stent components. These include buffer strips on the stent struts that minimize contact with the leaflet edges when opened. The cuff material is a fabric and a second material that reduces leaflet-stent friction. The cuff is positioned so that leaflet edges open against the fabric rather than the stent.

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Prosthetic heart valve with visible indicator for post-implant monitoring and replacement. The valve has a radiopaque marker visible on imaging that provides information such as valve size, expandability, make, and model. This allows tracking implanted valve characteristics without medical records. The marker can be on components like the sealing ring or frame that are visible from outside the body. The visible indicator allows selecting compatible replacement valves and performing valve-in-valve procedures using transcatheter valves. The marker can be made from radiopaque material or have openings filled with radiopaque material.

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A prosthetic heart valve design to minimize stress on the valve leaflets for improved durability. The valve has a collapsible stent frame with flexible connections between the stent cells. The flexible stent has a main body with proximal and distal ends, support struts, and one or more support posts. The stent cells at the proximal and distal ends are longitudinally spaced apart.

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A two-step deployment method for prosthetic heart valves that allows for collapsible valves with fewer layers and a simpler design to be used. The method involves first implanting an expandable anchoring platform in the patient's heart. Then a separate expandable valve with interlocking features is deployed inside the anchored platform. The valve expands and locks into the platform to complete the implant. This sequential deployment allows for collapsible valves without multi-layer designs while still having secure anchoring.

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