LEAFLET ABRASION MITIGATION IN PROSTHETIC HEART VALVES

• US 20150289973A1
• Filed: 04/13/2015
• Published: 10/15/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/2014
• 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: Braido, Peter N., Smith, Kent J., McCarthy, Andrea L., Fahim, Mina S.
• Granted Patent: US 10,226,332 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2/2418 Scaffolds therefor, e.g. support stents
• 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 2250/0021 differing in coefficient of friction

Abstract

A prosthetic heart valve includes a stent extending in a longitudinal direction, the stent being formed of a plurality of struts forming cells and having a plurality of commissure features, a collapsed condition and an expanded condition. A valve assembly may be secured to the stent, the valve assembly including a cuff and a plurality of leaflets. The cuff may be formed of a fabric and a second material different from the fabric, the cuff having commissure peaks and a plurality of midpeaks disposed between the commissure peaks. Each of the leaflets may have a free edge.

Claims

1. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

a stent extending in a longitudinal direction, the stent being formed of a plurality of struts forming cells and having a plurality of commissure features, a collapsed condition and an expanded condition;

a valve assembly secured to the stent, the valve assembly including a cuff and a plurality of leaflets, the cuff being formed of a fabric and a second material different from the fabric, the cuff having commissure peaks and a plurality of midpeaks disposed between the commissure peaks, each of the leaflets having a free edge.

2. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 1, wherein the fabric alternates with the second material in the cuff, the second material forming the plurality of midpeaks of the cuff.

3. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 1, wherein the second material includes tissue.

4. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 1, wherein the second material includes a polymer.

5. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 1, wherein the cuff includes triangular buffers formed from the second material.

6. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 5, wherein each of the triangular buffers includes three edges, one of the edges being coupled to the fabric, and two of the edges being coupled to struts.

7. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

a stent extending in a longitudinal direction, the stent being formed of a plurality of struts and having a plurality of commissure features, a collapsed condition and an expanded condition;

a valve assembly secured to the stent, the valve assembly including a cuff and a plurality of leaflets, each of the leaflets having a free edge and being capable of alternating between an open position and a closed position; and

at least one buffer strip coupled to at least one of the plurality of struts and configured and arranged to minimize abrasion of the free edge of the leaflet in the open position.

8. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 7, wherein the at least one buffer strip is formed of tissue or a polymer.

9. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 7, wherein the at least one buffer strip includes three groupings of buffer strips.

10. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 7, wherein the at least one buffer strip includes multiple groupings of buffer strips.

11. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 7, wherein the at least one buffer strip includes two buffer strips arranged in a V-shaped cushion.

12. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 7, wherein the at least one buffer strip includes four buffer strips arranged in a W-shaped cushion.

13. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 12, wherein the cuff includes a plurality of midpeaks disposed between an adjacent pair of the commissure features and the W-shaped cushions are centered about each of the plurality of midpeaks.

14. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 7, further comprising a suture configured to wrap around one of the plurality of struts and the at least one buffer strip.

15. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 7, further comprising a suture configured to pierce the cuff and the at least one buffer strip and to wrap around at least one of the plurality of struts.

16. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:

a stent extending in a longitudinal direction, the stent being formed of a plurality of struts forming cells and having a plurality of commissure features, a collapsed condition and an expanded condition;

a valve assembly secured to the stent, the valve assembly including a fabric cuff and a plurality of leaflets, at least a portion of the cuff being disposed on an abluminal surface of the stent, each of the leaflets having a free edge and being arranged to open such that the free edge is adjacent the portion of the cuff disposed on the abluminal surface of the stent.

17. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 16, wherein the cuff is entirely disposed on the abluminal surface of the stent.

18. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 16, wherein the cuff includes midpeak portions and a remaining portion, the midpeak portions being disposed on the abluminal surface of the stent and the remaining portion being disposed on a luminal surface of the stent.

19. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 18, wherein the midpeak portions pass through select cells of the stent from the luminal surface of the stent to the abluminal surface of the stent.

20. The prosthetic heart valve according to claim 19, wherein at least one edge of each of the midpeak portions is folded.