Percutaneous mitral valve repair implant

A cardiovascular implant to be inserted percutaneously for the repair of the mitral valve

Market Challenges
Nowadays, 2 to 3% of the world population suffer from mitral regurgitation. In the United States and Europe, nearly 2.3 million patients suffer from severe mitral regurgitation. Mitral valve pathologies affect around 9% of people over 75 years of age, and the incidence is bound to increase with the aging of the population. Each year, nearly 500,000 new patients are diagnosed with this disease, but more than 80% are not treated because the stage of the disease is too advanced for them to survive surgery, and there is a lack of percutaneous devices available. Mitral insufficiency can be treated with medication and surgery, and since recent years, thanks to transcatheter devices. However, there are currently very few minimally invasive repair devices on the market.

Innovative solution
The innovation is a cardiovascular implant to be inserted percutaneously for the repair of the mitral valve. It aims at filling the space between the two leaflets, by fixing a balloon with an adjustable volume on one of the leaflets (preferentially the posterior leaflet).

Development status
A model of the implant has been produced, and tests have been made in vitro on a defective biological valve for a proof of concept. A computer simulation for the analysis of the evolution of the implant is being conducted. A new project is currently being investigated, with the inflatable balloon being replaced by another system. A patent application has been filed.