VALVE LEAFLET ATTACHMENT IN COLLAPSIBLE PROSTHETIC VALVES

• US 20120071969A1
• Filed: 09/20/2011
• Published: 03/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Incorporated (Abbott Laboratories Incorporated)
• Inventors: Li, XueMei, Braido, Peter Nicholas
• Granted Patent: US 9,011,527 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 623/2.17
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/24 Heart valves ; Vascular valves, e.g. venous valves; Heart implants, e.g. passive devices for improving the function of the native valve or the heart muscle; Transmyocardial revascularisation [TMR] devices; Valves implantable in the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2412 with soft flexible valve members, e.g. tissue valves shaped like natural valves check valves with flexible valve members in general F16K15/14
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2415 Manufacturing methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/2418 Scaffolds therefor, e.g. support stents
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/005 using adhesives
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0066 stapled
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2220/0075 sutured, ligatured or stitched, retained or tied with a rope, string, thread, wire or cable
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/0054 V-shaped
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2230/008 paraboloidal

Abstract

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.

Claims

1. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

a stent having a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, the stent having a proximal end, a distal end and a plurality of cells, each cell being formed by a plurality of struts; and

a valve assembly secured to the stent and including a cuff and a plurality of leaflets, each leaflet having a folded portion and being coupled to the cuff at the folded portion.

2. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 1, wherein the folded portion has a width between a folded edge and a free edge, the width being between about 0.1 mm and about 2 mm.

3. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 1, wherein the folded portion of each of the plurality of leaflets is sutured to the cuff using a whip stitch.

4. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 1, wherein the stent includes a plurality of commissure features and each leaflet is sutured to the cuff through the folded portion with a repeating suture pattern, the pattern including a descending seam, an ascending seam, and a vertex between the descending seam and the ascending seam, the pattern being disposed solely between the commissure features and the proximal end of the stent.

5. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of leaflets is further attached to the plurality of struts.

6. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

a stent having a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, the stent having a proximal end, a distal end and a plurality of cells, each cell being formed by a plurality of struts;

a plurality of commissure features disposed on the stent; and

a valve assembly secured to the stent and including a cuff and a plurality of leaflets cuff between the plurality of commissure features and the proximal end of the stent, each of the leaflets being coupled only to the cuff.

7. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of leaflets are coupled to the cuff by sutures.

8. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 7, wherein each suture is spaced from an adjacent suture between about 0.5 mm and about 2.0 mm.

9. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 6, wherein each leaflet is sutured to the cuff with a repeating suture pattern, the suture pattern including a descending seam, an ascending seam, and a vertex between the descending seam and the ascending seam, the suture pattern being disposed solely between the commissure features and the proximal end of the stent.

10. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 9, wherein an end of the descending seam is spaced between about 0.5 mm and about 2.0 mm proximally of a first commissure feature, and an end of the ascending seam is spaced between about 0.5 mm and about 2.0 mm proximally of a second commissure feature.

11. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 9, wherein the descending seam is located less than about 2.0 mm from ones of the plurality of struts, and the ascending seam is located less than about 2.0 mm from others of the plurality of struts.

12. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of struts include ancons at which multiple struts merge and the suture pattern passes between two pairs of adjacent ancons near the vertex.

13. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of leaflets is coupled to the cuff by sutures forming a repeating parabolic pattern.

14. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of leaflets overlaps with a portion of the cuff to form a pocket between the cuff and each of the plurality of leaflets.

15. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

a stent having a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, the stent including a plurality of cells, each cell being formed by a plurality of struts; and

a valve assembly secured to the stent and including a cuff and a plurality of leaflets, each leaflet including a first edge adjacent to the cuff and a second edge spaced apart from the cuff, each leaflet being attached to the stent such that at least a portion of the first edge of each leaflet is disposed along at least one strut of the stent.

16. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 15, wherein each leaflet is attached to the stent such that the first edge of each leaflet is disposed along at least three struts of the stent.

17. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 15, further comprising at least one supplemental strut extending across at least one cell.

18. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 17, wherein each leaflet is attached to at least one of the stent or the cuff such that a portion of the first edge of each leaflet is adjacent to the at least one supplemental strut.

19. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 15, wherein each leaflet meets an adjacent leaflet to form a commissure, the heart valve further comprising attachment features in the stent for attaching the commissures to the stent.

20. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 19, wherein each leaflet is attached to the stent such that at least a portion of the first edge of each leaflet is attached to the attachment features.

21. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 15, wherein each leaflet is attached to the stent such that the first edge of each leaflet is disposed along at least four struts of the stent.

22. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 21, wherein the at least four struts do not collectively form one cell.

23. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

a stent having a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, the stent including a plurality of cells, each cell being formed by a plurality of struts; and

a valve assembly secured to the stent and including a cuff and a plurality of leaflets, each leaflet including a first edge adjacent to the cuff and a second edge spaced apart from the cuff, each leaflet being attached to the cuff such that at least a portion of the first edge of each leaflet is disposed at a substantially uniform distance from at least one strut of the stent.