Artificial heart valve for implantation in a blood vessel
First Claim
1. An artificial heart valve comprising a wire bent into a shape which anchors said wire in a position within a blood vessel, said wire being sized and shaped for complete containment within said vessel and having at least one means for snagging the internal wall surface of said blood vessel without completely piercing it, and a flap valve attached to said wire, said flap valve being a disk which is free to open and substantially close approximately the entire surface space defined by the internal wall surface within the vessel responsive to the ebb and flow of blood caused by a pumping heart.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An artificial heart valve is designed to fit into a blood vessel when a patient is too weak to undergo open heart surgery. The valve has a disk shaped flap valve threaded on a bent wire which may be anchored in a blood vessel. One embodiment uses a clip anchor which is bent into somewhat the shape of a safety pin. Another embodiment uses a STENT as the anchor. The wire snags on the wall of the blood vessel in order to keep the valve from migrating through the blood vessel. The flap valve opens and closes under the pressure of blood which is ebbing and flowing responsive to a pumping heart.
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Citations
27 Claims
- 1. An artificial heart valve comprising a wire bent into a shape which anchors said wire in a position within a blood vessel, said wire being sized and shaped for complete containment within said vessel and having at least one means for snagging the internal wall surface of said blood vessel without completely piercing it, and a flap valve attached to said wire, said flap valve being a disk which is free to open and substantially close approximately the entire surface space defined by the internal wall surface within the vessel responsive to the ebb and flow of blood caused by a pumping heart.
- 4. An artificial heart valve compising a wire bent into a shape which anchors said wire in a position within a blood vessel, said bent wire being in the form of a wire bent into a zig-zag shape, the ends of the wire being joined to form a cylinder, said wire having at least one means for snagging the wall of said blood vessel without completely piercing it, and a flap valve attached to said wire, said flap valve being a disk which is free to open and close the internal space within the vessel responsive to the ebb and flow of blood caused by a pumping heart.
- 8. An artificial heart valve comprising a wire clip formed by a single piece of wire that is shaped into two struts with a coiled section separating them, said two struts forming an acute angle with said coil at the apex of the angle, a disk valve threaded onto one of said struts, and means on said one strut for somewhat loosely holding said disk in a particular position on said one strut, said holding looseness being adequate to enable said disk to perform as a flap valve performs when said clip is positioned in a vessel of a blood circulation system.
- 18. An artificial heart valve comprising a STENT formed by a wire which is bent with a zig-zag shape into the form of a cylinder which is somewhat reminiscent of a crown, at least one barb attached to said STENT for preventing a migration thereof within a blood vessel, and a flap valve attached to said STENT for opening and closing the blood vessel responsive to the ebb and flow of blood being pumped by a heart.
- 21. A combination of an artificial heart valve and a catheter for locating said valve within a blood vessel, said valve comprising a bent wire having a configuration which prevents it from migrating within a blood vessel, a flap valve means associated with said bent wire with means for holding said flap valve in place on said wire, said flap valve being a reinforced plastic disk, and catheter means for inserting and movement to a selected location in a blood vessel where said heart valve is to be placed, said heart valve having a size and flexibility whereby it may be forced through and out the end of said catheter at said selected location, said bent wire having a spring tension which causes it to spread and attach itself to a wall of said blood vessel.
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25. An artificial heart valve comprising a wire bent into a shape which anchors said wire in a position within a blood vessel, said wire having at least one means for snagging the wall of said blood vessel without completely piercing it, and a flap valve attached to said wire, said flap valve being made of at least one disk of a plastic member which is loosely attached to said wire, said disk being free to open and substantially close the internal space within the vessel responsive to the ebb and flow of blood caused by a pumping heart.
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26. An artificial heart valve comprising a wire bent into a shape which anchors said wire in a position within a blood vessel, said wire having at least one means for snagging the wall of said blood vessel without completely piercing it, and a flap valve attached to said wire, the flap valve being a pair of plastic fiber disks with a support member positioned between said plastic fiber disks, said flap valve being free to open and close the internal space within the vessel responsive to the ebb and flow of blood caused by a pumping heart.
Specification