Two-piece heart valve holder/rotator
First Claim
1. A heart valve holder for holding a heart valve prosthesis during implantation, comprising, in combination:
- a plug means having opposite ends, one of which has a valve-engaging means and having passageway walls defining at least two passageways each extending in a generally axial direction between said opposite ends; and
grip means including two legs extending through said passageways in the plug means, said legs each having a valve-engaging means at the free end thereof and a radially outward-facing surface adjacent a radially inward-facing surface of one of said passageway walls, said valve engaging means of said legs being movable between valve-engaging and valve-releasing positions in response to substantially axially directed movement of said grip means relative to said plug which effects camming engagement between said radially inward-facing surfaces and said radially outward-facing surfaces that cams said free ends radially inward.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A two-piece heart valve holder engageable by a separate handle for positioning and rotating the heart valve. The holder includes a cylindrically-shaped plug member that has a recessed shoulder at one end and a V-shaped seat at the other end. Two passages extend through the plug member from the one end. A separate grip member includes two legs which extend through the passageways in the plug member. The two legs each include a base member. The two base members are hinged together with the legs biased outwardly, and each leg has an outwardly projecting valve-engaging foot at the distal end thereof. When the upper ends of the legs engage walls defining the passages, the legs are cammed outwardly so that the feet engage the edge of the valve body of the prosthesis to prevent its removal from the plug member. Once the prosthesis is sutured in place, the grip member is released by lifting a tab that extends upwardly from one of the base members.
118 Citations
10 Claims
-
1. A heart valve holder for holding a heart valve prosthesis during implantation, comprising, in combination:
-
a plug means having opposite ends, one of which has a valve-engaging means and having passageway walls defining at least two passageways each extending in a generally axial direction between said opposite ends; and grip means including two legs extending through said passageways in the plug means, said legs each having a valve-engaging means at the free end thereof and a radially outward-facing surface adjacent a radially inward-facing surface of one of said passageway walls, said valve engaging means of said legs being movable between valve-engaging and valve-releasing positions in response to substantially axially directed movement of said grip means relative to said plug which effects camming engagement between said radially inward-facing surfaces and said radially outward-facing surfaces that cams said free ends radially inward. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8)
-
-
5. A device for positioning and holding a heart valve prosthesis during implantation comprising, in combination,
substantially cylindrically-shaped plug means having a recessed shoulder at one end sized to fit within the inside surface of the body of the heart valve prosthesis, a seat at the end of the plug means opposite the recessed shoulder, the plug means having two passages therethrough extending between the two ends of the plug means and parallel with the longitudinal axis thereof, wall means projecting upwardly from the periphery of the seat adjacent each passageway, means for receiving a handle for positioning the prosthesis during implantation; - and
grip means including two legs, each sized in length to extend through the passageways in the plug means, each leg depending from a base member, the base members being resiliently hinged together, each leg having an outwardly extending end so that when the legs of the grip are placed through the passageways of the plug, the legs move radially outwardly, the outwardly extending ends engaging the edge of the heart valve prosthesis to secure the same to the plug means and being maintained in such position by a camming force exerted on the grip means by the projecting wall means. - View Dependent Claims (9)
- and
-
10. A device for positioning and holding a heart valve prosthesis during implantation comprising, in combination,
substantially cylindrically-shaped plug means having a recessed shoulder at one end sized to frictionally engage the inside surface of the body of the heart valve prosthesis, a V-shaped seat at the end of the plug means opposite the recessed shoulder, the plug means having two passages therethrough extending between the two ends of the plug means and parallel with the longitudinal axis thereof, wall means projecting upwardly from the periphery of the seat adjacent each passageway, means for receiving a handle for positioning the prosthesis during implantation; - and
grip means including two legs, each sized in length to extend through the passageways in the plug means, each leg depending from a base member, the base members being hinged together, with the outer edge of each leg being angled inwardly from the outer edge of its base member at an angle substantially equal to the angle between each half of the V-shaped seat and a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the plug means, each leg having an outwardly extending end so that when the legs of the grip are placed through the passageways in the plug, the legs move radially outwardly, and the outwardly extending ends engaging the edge of the heart valve prosthesis to secure the same to the plug means and being maintained in such position by a camming force exerted on the grip means by the projecting wall means.
- and
Specification