This technology is a ring attachment for heart valve surgery and valve-in-ring procedures to facilitate mitral valve repair.
Heart valves such as mitral and tricuspid valves can dilate with heart disease or aging, leading to the need for surgical repair. Annuloplasty or valvuloplasty rings made of rigid or semi-rigid material are commonly used as a brace-like device to remodel dilated valves, but as these valves need to retain a certain degree of flexibility for cardiac function, the material, design, and suturing necessary to surgically attach these rings during implantation can negatively impact surgical success and result in the need for further corrective surgical procedures. Furthermore, to facilitate flexibility for valve movement, some rings are designed as incomplete circles, which are also suboptimal as this design leads to weak spots that can further deform with use. These drawbacks necessitate the design of a ring for mitral and tricuspid valve procedures that provides both rigidity and flexibility while also reducing the likelihood of tissue damage and surgical complications to facilitate safe and effective valve repair.
This technology enables heart valve repair by converting an incomplete ring into a complete ring while avoiding the need for further suturing-based damage to the underlying conduction tissue. The flexible attachment patches weak points by anchoring directly to the two ends of an incomplete ring, which corrects valve dilation while still providing sufficient flexibility for cardiac function. The technology can also be used as a modified incomplete ring design with a pre-attached anterior element. The technology will be embedded in the tissue over time, providing additional support to the anterior annulus during valve-in-ring procedures and reducing the likelihood of complications or valve failure.
Vinayak Bapat, MD
Patent Pending (US20210369457)
IR CU19219, CU19218
Licensing Contact: Jerry Kokoshka
