1. A computer-assisted methodology for determining the conformational energy of a folded protein comprising the steps of:
(a) inputting a potential conformation for a protein with a plurality of residues into a state machine;
(b) receiving from the state machine spatial coordinates of each residue corresponding to the potential conformation for the protein;
(c) comparing the spatial coordinates and corresponding hydropathy of each residue to each other residue at least once using pipelined comparators to determine a collision count and an adjacency count;
(d) calculating a total collision count and total adjacency count from the pipeline of comparators;
(e) calculating a folding cost based on the total collision count and the total adjacent count; and
(f) replacing a default conformation with the potential conformation if the potential folding cost associated with the potential conformation is lower than a default folding cost.
2. The methodology according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:
(g) repeating steps (b) to (f) a plurality of times.
3. The methodology according to claim 1, wherein said folding cost is the sum of said total collision count and said total adjacency count.
4. The methodology according to claim 3, wherein said total collision count is positive.
5. The methodology according to claim 3, wherein said hydropathy for each residue is hydrophobic or hydrophilic.
6. The methodology according to claim 5, wherein said total adjacency count is negative for hydrophobic residues.
7. An apparatus for determining the conformational energy of a folded protein having a plurality of residues and a default conformation comprising:
means to assign a spatial coordinate to each residue of said protein in a potential conformation;
means for using a pipeline to determine a collision count and an adjacent count for each residue;
means to determine a total collision count and a total adjacent count for the potential conformation having said plurality of residues;
means to determine a folding cost for the potential conformation; and
means to compare the folding cost of the default conformation with the folding cost of the potential conformation.
8. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:
means for replacing the default conformation with the potential conformation.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said means for replacing the default conformational energy of the folded protein occurs a plurality of times.
10. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said total collision count is positive.
11. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said total adjacency count is negative.
12. A fitness circuit for determining the fitness of a conformation for a protein folding problem, said fitness circuit comprising:
a conformation register containing a potential conformation for said protein folding problem therein;
a hydropathy register containing an associated hydropathy for each residue of said potential conformation;
a state machine, said state machine determining spatial coordinates and associated hydropathy for said residues of said potential conformation;
a plurality of pipelined comparators comparing the spatial coordinates and associated hydropathy of a respective residue with another residue of said potential conformation, said plurality of pipelined comparators determining a collision count and an adjacency count of said respective residue with said another residue; and
an adder connected to each of said plurality of pipelined comparators, said adder adding said collision count and said adjacency count, thereby determining the fitness of said potential conformation for said protein folding problem.
13. The fitness circuit according to claim 12, wherein said collision count is positive.
14. The fitness circuit according to claim 12, wherein said hydropathy for each residue is hydrophobic or hydrophilic.
15. The fitness circuit according to claim 12, wherein said adjacency count is negative for hydrophobic residues.
16. A method for determining the fitness of a conformation for a folded protein problem, said method comprising the steps of:
inputting a potential conformation for a folded protein with a plurality of residues into a state machine;
receiving from the state machine spatial coordinates of each residue corresponding to the conformation for the folded protein;
comparing using a pipeline the spatial coordinates and corresponding hydropathy of each residue to each other residue at least once to determine a collision count and an adjacency count;
calculating a total collision count and total adjacency count result from the pipeline; and
calculating a folding cost based on the total collision count and the total adjacency count.
17. The method according to claim 16, wherein said folding cost is the sum of said total collision count and said total adjacency count.
18. The method according to claim 16, wherein said total collision count is positive.
19. The method according to claim 16, wherein said hydropathy for each residue is hydrophobic or hydrophilic.
20. The method according to claim 19, wherein said total adjacency count is negative for hydrophobic residues.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
What is claimed is:
1. A method for delivering a longitudinally collapsible prosthesis to an anatomical site in a body channel, the method comprising:
introducing a catheter into the body channel, wherein the catheter contains a longitudinally collapsible prosthesis in a retracted state;
advancing the catheter to an anatomical site;
maintaining a distal portion of the longitudinally collapsible prosthesis in place relative to the anatomical site by attaching the distal portion of the prosthesis to the interior of the anatomical site;
disengaging the longitudinally collapsible prosthesis from said catheter, wherein the collapsible prosthesis expands from the retracted state to a non-retracted state; and
withdrawing said catheter from the body channel.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinally collapsible prosthesis is a vascular graft.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinally collapsible prosthesis is a biological vascular graft.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinally collapsible prosthesis is a stentless cardiac valve.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinally collapsible prosthesis is a valved conduit.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinally collapsible prosthesis is a venous valve.
7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of attaching the distal portion of the prosthesis to the interior of the anatomical site further comprises a step of stapling said prosthesis into the tissue of the body channel.
8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of attaching the distal portion of the prosthesis to the interior of the anatomical site further comprises a step of adhering said prosthesis into the tissue of the body channel.
9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of attaching the distal portion of the prosthesis to the interior of the anatomical site further comprises a step of coupling said prosthesis into the tissue of the body channel.
10. The method according to claim 1, wherein said distal portion of the longitudinally collapsible prosthesis is maintained in place at a position relative to the anatomical site by an elongated delivery member located within a lumen of the catheter, said elongated delivery member having an engagement element at a distal end of the said elongated delivery member, where in the engaging element is adapted for engaging and digging ht distal portion of said longitudinally collapsible prosthesis. a therapeutic fluid is introduced into the lumen of the catheter shaft.
11. A method for delivering a stentless longitudinally collapsible bioprosthesis in a body channel,
the method comprising percutaneously introducing a catheter into the body channel, wherein the catheter contains said stentless longitudinally collapsible bioprosthesis at a retracted state; and disengaging said stentless bioprosthesis out of a distal opening of the catheter by pulling the distal end of the stentless bioprosthesis.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said pulling mechanism further comprises an engaging element coupling to a distal portion of the stentless longitudinally collapsible bioprosthesis from said engaging element.