Heart valve prosthesis rotator with bendable shaft and drive mechanism
First Claim
1. A rotator for a mechanical heart valve comprisinga handle,a shaft attached to a proximal end of said handle,a rotator head adapted to engage an annular valve body within said mechanical heart valve, said rotator head being rotatably attached to a proximal end of said shaft, anda coil attached to said rotator head and extending along said shaft for turning said rotator head.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A heart valve prothesis rotator which also has an annealed stainless steel shaft which can be bent by the surgeon interoperatively. The shaft will retain its shape after bending. Surrounding the shaft is a drive coil which connects a rotator head at a proximal end of the shaft to a drive knob at a distal end of the shaft and adjacent a handle. By turning the drive knob, a surgeon can turn the rotator head, thus orienting the prosthetic heart valve. Torsional motion is carried along the path defined by the bendable shaft so that the rotator head can be turned without displacing the handle of the heart valve rotator.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A rotator for a mechanical heart valve comprising
a handle, a shaft attached to a proximal end of said handle, a rotator head adapted to engage an annular valve body within said mechanical heart valve, said rotator head being rotatably attached to a proximal end of said shaft, and a coil attached to said rotator head and extending along said shaft for turning said rotator head.
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11. A rotator for a mechanical heart valve comprising
a handle, a shaft attached to a proximal end of said handle, means at a proximal end of said shaft for engaging an annular valve body within said mechanical heart valve, and means for turning said means for engaging without turning said handle or said shaft.
Specification