Method of leaflet attachment for prosthetic heart valves
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A prosthetic heart valve subject to a force when in use comprising:
- means defining a plurality of valve leaflets;
means for mounting said valve leaflets for opening and closing movement and in a configuration suitable for a prosthetic heart valve; and
said mounting means including first means for attaching at least one of the valve leaflets to said mounting means and second means including first and second members responsive to the force on the valve when the valve is in use for clamping a region of said one valve leaflet between said first and second members to augment the attachment provided by said first means and reduce the stress on said first means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A prosthetic heart valve including a frame having a plurality of commissure supports, a plurality of resilient supports, and a plurality of valve leaflets. The valve leaflets are attached to the resilient supports, and the resilient supports lie radially outwardly of the commissure supports, respectively. When in use, the valve is subjected to forces which are used to clamp the valve leaflets between the resilient supports and the commissure supports to augment whatever other leaflet attachment techniques may be used.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A prosthetic heart valve subject to a force when in use comprising:
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means defining a plurality of valve leaflets; means for mounting said valve leaflets for opening and closing movement and in a configuration suitable for a prosthetic heart valve; and said mounting means including first means for attaching at least one of the valve leaflets to said mounting means and second means including first and second members responsive to the force on the valve when the valve is in use for clamping a region of said one valve leaflet between said first and second members to augment the attachment provided by said first means and reduce the stress on said first means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A prosthetic heart valve subject to a force when in use comprising:
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means for defining a plurality of valve leaflets; means for mounting said valve leaflets for opening and closing movement in a configuration suitable for a prosthetic heart valve; and said mounting means including first means responsive to the force on the prosthetic heart valve when the valve is in use for clamping at least one of said valve leaflets with a clamping force to assist in retaining said one valve leaflet on the mounting means, said first means including first and second resilient members for clamping said one valve leaflet. - View Dependent Claims (5)
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6. A prosthetic heart valve comprising:
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a generally annular frame having a plurality of commissure supports, at least one of said commissure supports including a first frame section; a resilient support; means for attaching said resilient support to said frame with said support being adjacent said first frame section; valve leaflet sheet material mounted on said frame to define a plurality of valve leaflets which are movable between open and closed positions, a first of said valve leaflets being drivingly coupled to the resilient support so that a radial inward force on said first valve leaflet deflects said resilient support radially inwardly; a region of the first valve leaflet extending between the resilient support and the first frame section; and said resilient support and said first frame section being located so that, the resilient support can deflect and press said region of the first valve leaflet against said first frame section in response to a force which deflects the resilient support radially inwardly. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 30)
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14. A method of making a frame for a prosthetic heart valve comprising:
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forming a wire into a generally flat pattern with the wire having a plurality of part substantially elliptical sections joined by apical sections and with each of the apical sections including a reverse bend, said apical sections extending in the same general direction and said wire having opposite ends, said substantailly elliptical sections being substantially elliptical in a direction perpendicular to the flat pattern; forming the flat pattern into an annular configuration; and joining said opposite ends to retain the wire in said annular configuration whereby the overall axial dimension of the frame is reduced without introducing sharp bends into the wire. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A frame for a prosthetic heart valve comprising:
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a wire formed into an annular configuration and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apical sections joined by curved sections, each of the apical sections including a reverse bend, said apical sections extending in the same direction; and each of said curved sections being substantially elliptical as viewed from the side of the annular configuration and forming only a portion of an ellipse whereby the overall axial dimension of the frame is reduced without introducing sharp bends into the wire. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A frame for a prosthetic heart valve comprising:
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a wire formed into an annular configuration and having a plurality of circumferentially spaced apical sections joined by curved sections, each of said apical sections including a reverse bend and first and second straight segments joining the opposite ends of the reverse bend of such apical section to the adjacent curved sections, respectively; said wire having opposite ends at one of said segments; and means for splicing said opposite ends of said wire together at said one of said segments.
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22. A prosthetic heart valve comprising:
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a frame of generally annular configuration having a plurality of commissure supports, each of said commissure supports extending in the same general direction; each of said commissure supports including segments spaced circumferentially to define an opening; a plurality of valve leaflet supports for the commissure supports, respectively; means for attaching the valve leaflet supports to the frame with each of the valve leaflet supports being positioned generally radially outwardly of the associated commissure supports; valve leaflet sheet material; and means for attaching the valve leaflet sheet material to the valve leaflet supports and to the frame to define a plurality of valve leaflets which are movable between open and closed positions with said valve leaflet sheet material extending from each of the supports to which it is joined through the opening of the associated commissure support. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method of making a prosthetic heart valve comprising:
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providing a first subassembly including an annular wire frame having a cloth cover with the frame having a plurality of circumferentially spaced commissure supports joined by curved sections and with each of the commissure supports including a reverse bend and circumferentially spaced wire segments joining such reverse bend to the adjacent curved sections, respectively, to form a recess at each commissure support which opens away from the associated reverse bend; attaching valve leaflet sheet material to a plurality of valve leaflet supports with the number of the valve leaflet supports corresponding to the number of the commissure supports to form a second subassembly; inserting the second subassembly into said recesses to a location adjacent said reverse bends with the valve leaflet supports lying radially outwardly of the associated commissure supports and with the valve leaflet sheet material extending from the associated valve leaflet supports radially outwardly through the adjacent recesses; and attaching the subassemblies. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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Specification