Stationary intra-annular halo designs for paravalvular leak (pvl) reduction-passive channel filling cuff designs

Abstract

A prosthetic heart valve may include a collapsible and expandable stent extending in a flow direction between a proximal end and a distal end, a cuff attached to an annulus section of the stent, a plurality of prosthetic valve leaflets each having a belly attached to the cuff between a first location and a second location downstream of the first location in a flow direction, and a sealing structure attached to the annulus section of the stent. The annulus section of the stent may be adjacent the proximal end. The stent may include a plurality of struts shaped to form a plurality of cells connected to one another in a plurality of annular rows around the stent. The sealing structure may have a deployed condition with a diameter greater than a diameter of the proximal end of the stent when the stent is in an expanded use condition.

1 . A prosthetic heart valve configured to be expanded between native leaflets of a native aortic annulus of a patient, the prosthetic heart valve comprising:
 a collapsible and expandable stent extending in a flow direction between a proximal end and a distal end, the stent including an annulus section adjacent the proximal end and a plurality of struts shaped to form a plurality of cells connected to one another in a plurality of annular rows around the stent, the flow direction being defined from the proximal end toward the distal end;   a cuff attached to the annulus section of the stent;   a plurality of prosthetic valve leaflets each having a belly attached to the cuff between a first location and a second location downstream of the first location in the flow direction; and   a sealing structure attached to the annulus section of the stent, the sealing structure having a deployed condition with a diameter greater than a diameter of the proximal end of the stent when the stent is in an expanded use condition.   
     
     
         2 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing structure is entirely located between the proximal end of the stent and the first location. 
     
     
         3 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing structure is located partially between the proximal end of the stent the first location, and partially between the first location and the second location. 
     
     
         4 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 1 , further comprising an underwire supporting a portion of the cuff and extending in a circumferential direction about a perimeter of the stent along locations where the bellies of the leaflets are attached to the cuff, wherein the sealing structure is attached to the stent and the cuff along the underwire. 
     
     
         5 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 4 , wherein the underwire is located within an interior of the sealing structure. 
     
     
         6 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing structure extends continuously around a circumference of the stent. 
     
     
         7 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 6 , wherein the sealing structure has a top surface facing the distal end of the stent, the top surface including a plurality of openings in fluid communication with an interior of the sealing structure. 
     
     
         8 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing structure has a saddle ring shape with at least two peaks and at least two valleys, the valleys being closer to the proximal end of the stent than the peaks. 
     
     
         9 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing structure has a zigzag ring shape with at least three peaks and at least three valleys, the valleys being closer to the proximal end of the stent than the peaks. 
     
     
         10 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 9 , wherein the peaks include at least one low peak that extends to a first height above the valleys and at least one high peak that extends to a second height above the valleys, the second height being greater than the first height. 
     
     
         11 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 9 , wherein the stent includes commissure features each located at a juncture of adjacent ones of the bellies of the leaflets, at least a portion of the belly of each leaflet being attached to one of the commissure features, and the peaks are substantially aligned with the commissure features in the flow direction. 
     
     
         12 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 9 , wherein the stent includes commissure features each located at a juncture of adjacent ones of the bellies of the leaflets, at least a portion of the belly of each leaflet being attached to one of the commissure features, and the valleys are substantially aligned with the commissure features in the flow direction. 
     
     
         13 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 9 , wherein at least one of the valleys includes a portion that extends in a direction orthogonal to the flow direction, the portion not being attached to the cuff and stent and being configured to be under tension when the stent is in the expanded use condition. 
     
     
         14 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 13 , wherein the stent includes commissure features each located at a juncture of adjacent ones of the bellies of the leaflets, at least a portion of the belly of each leaflet being attached to one of the commissure features, and the portion is substantially aligned with the commissure features in the flow direction. 
     
     
         15 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing structure comprises at least one discontinuous ring portion extending circumferentially about at least a portion of a perimeter of the stent, the at least one discontinuous ring portion having a high end and a low end that are vertically displaced from one another in the flow direction. 
     
     
         16 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 15 , wherein the high end and the low end are aligned in the flow direction with one another, such that an imaginary line extending in the flow direction intersects the high end and the low end. 
     
     
         17 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing structure comprises at least two discontinuous ring portions each extending circumferentially about at least a portion of a perimeter of the stent, the high end being an end of a first one of the discontinuous ring portions, and the low end being an end of a second one of the discontinuous ring portions. 
     
     
         18 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing structure comprises a continuous ring structure and at least one discontinuous ring portion, the at least one discontinuous ring portion being disposed between the distal end of the stent and the continuous ring structure. 
     
     
         19 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 18 , wherein the stent includes commissure features each located at a juncture of adjacent ones of the bellies of the leaflets, at least a portion of the belly of each leaflet being attached to one of the commissure features, and each discontinuous ring portion is substantially aligned with a corresponding one of the commissure features in the flow direction. 
     
     
         20 . The prosthetic heart valve of  claim 1 , wherein the sealing structure comprises two continuous ring structures, each of the continuous ring structures extending completely around a circumference of the stent.