Flexible heart valve and associated connecting band
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
- a flexible stent having alternating inflow cusps and outflow commissures;
a plurality of flexible leaflets attached to the stent so as to form a one-way valve within the stent; and
a suture-permeable connecting band attached to the stent providing outer free margins in the assembled heart valve and a flexible interface for suturing the valve to surrounding host tissue;
wherein the connecting band closely conforms to the alternating stent cusps and commissures and defines an axial gap along the commissures opening in the inflow direction for enhancing freedom of movement of the stent cusps, andwherein the stent has bioresorbable commissures and is designed to separate the valve into individual leaflets after implant, and the connecting band is discontinuous at the stent commissures.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A highly flexible tissue-type heart valve is disclosed having a structural stent in a generally cylindrical configuration with cusps and commissures that are permitted to move radially. The stent commissures are constructed so that the cusps are pivotably or flexibly coupled together at the commissures to permit relative movement therebetween.
393 Citations
34 Claims
-
1. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
-
a flexible stent having alternating inflow cusps and outflow commissures; a plurality of flexible leaflets attached to the stent so as to form a one-way valve within the stent; and a suture-permeable connecting band attached to the stent providing outer free margins in the assembled heart valve and a flexible interface for suturing the valve to surrounding host tissue; wherein the connecting band closely conforms to the alternating stent cusps and commissures and defines an axial gap along the commissures opening in the inflow direction for enhancing freedom of movement of the stent cusps, and wherein the stent has bioresorbable commissures and is designed to separate the valve into individual leaflets after implant, and the connecting band is discontinuous at the stent commissures. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A highly flexible prosthetic heart valve, consisting essentially of:
-
a flexible elongated stent formed generally in a tube with cusp regions on an inflow end alternating with commissure tips on an outflow end to form an undulating periphery, the stent having commissure regions on either side of each cusp region wherein the commissure tips join adjacent commissure regions and the juxtaposed commissure regions define axial spaces therebetween; a plurality of flexible leaflets attached to the stent so as to form a one-way valve within the stent; and a suture-permeable band having a shape that mimics the alternating stent cusps and commissures and is attached along the undulating periphery of the stent so as to project outward from the stent along the stent cusps and commissures and provide an interface between the assembled valve and surrounding host tissue, and wherein the stent has bioresorbable commissures and is designed to separate the valve into individual leaflets after implant, and the suture-permeable band is discontinuous at the stent commissures. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
-
-
24. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
-
a flexible stent having alternating inflow cusps and outflow commissures; a plurality of flexible leaflets attached to the stent so as to form a one-way valve within the stent; and a suture-permeable connecting band attached to the stent providing an interface between the valve and surrounding host tissue; wherein the connecting band conforms to the alternating stent cusps and commissures and defines an axial gap along the commissures opening in the inflow direction for enhancing freedom of movement of the stent cusps, and wherein the stent has bioresorbable commissures and is designed to separate the valve into individual leaflets after implant, and the connecting band is discontinuous at the stent commissures. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
-
-
30. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
-
a flexible stent having alternating inflow cusps and outflow commissures, wherein the stent comprises a fabric covered rod-like structure, wherein the fabric covering closely surrounds the rod-like structure and exhibits a flap projecting outward therefrom substantially the entire length of the stent cusps and commissures, and has a width that varies along the cusps and commissures of the stent, the flap being narrower in the cusps; a plurality of flexible leaflets attached to the stent so as to form a one-way valve within the stent; and a suture-permeable connecting band attached to the stent providing an interface between the valve and surrounding host tissue; wherein the connecting band conforms to the alternating stent cusps and commissures and defines an axial gap along the commissures opening in the inflow direction for enhancing freedom of movement of the stent cusps. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
-
Specification