A Concept for a Novel Procedure for Mitral Valve Repair by Percutaneous Annuloplasty

Mitral valve regurgitation [1] (MVR) is a functional heart disease in which the valve does not close completely and causes blood to leak back into the left atrium. This condition increases the workload on the heart, and if left untreated, can lead to irreversible heart damage, cardiac arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure. Annually, in the United States, more than 50 000 patients undergo mitral valve repair. The causes of MR can be either primary, due to an anatomical change of the valve apparatus, or secondary to ischemic heart disease and idiopathic cardiomyopathy. Currently, the intervention requires an open heart surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass. Under such conditions, the patient is subjected to intra and post-operative trauma that can result in a mortality increase and that can prevent high risk individuals from undergoing the repair. A non-invasive percutaneous method would greatly reduce risks associated with a conventional surgery while increasing the potential candidates for repair. Introduced in this paper is a concept for a novel procedure that relies on a robotically-guided compliant catheter, fitted with an anchoring mechanism, intended to reshape the mitral-valve annulus to dimensions suitable for the effective support of the valve leaflets.