 Catheter and method for infusing fluid into a patient |
| Referring to the figures of the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 a schematic view a preferred ... |
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| Introduction balloon catheter |
| The invention provides an apparatus and method for delivering otherwise oversized devices through ... |
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| Blood vessel occlusion trocar |
| In accordance with a principle aspect of the present invention there is provided an occluder ... |
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| Non-invasive aortic impingement and core and cerebral temperature manipulation |
| The present invention provides a non-invasive method and apparatus for treating cardiac arrest ... |
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| Dual lumen catheter with controlled antegrade and retrograde fluid flow |
| The present invention is a catheter device that regulates fluid flow within a circulatory vessel ... |
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| Enhanced intra-aortic balloon assist device |
| One object of the present invention is to provide a means and method for enhancing heart function ... |
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Heart valves and suture rings therefor
| Details |
Inventors: Huynh, Van Le; Nguyen, Than; Lam, Hung Ly; Guo, Xiaoming G.; Kafesjian, Ralph;
Assignee: Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (Irvine, CA)
Primary Examiner: Willse; David H.
Assistant Examiner:
Attorney, Agent or Firm: James; John C., Yadav; Rajiv, Cumberbatch; Guy L.
Improved, adaptable tissue-type heart valves and methods for their manufacture are disclosed wherein a dimensionally stable, pre-aligned tissue leaflet subassembly is formed and its peripheral edge clamped between and attached to an upper shaped wireform and a lower support stent. A variety of adaptable structural interfaces including suture rings, flanges, and conduits may be attached to the support stent with or without an outlet conduit disposed about the wireform to provide a tissue-type heart valve adaptable for use in either a natural heart or in mechanical pumping devices. The methods include forming individual leaflets with a template and using the template to attach the leaflets together to form a tissue leaflet subassembly. The template and leaflets include a straight edge terminating in oppositely directed tabs, and a curvilinear cusp edge extending opposite the straight edge. The template may include a guide slot in its straight edge and the assembly includes aligning two leaflet tabs with the template and passing sutures through the guide slot and through the leaflet tabs. The leaflet subassembly is mated to a wireform with the tabs extending through commissure posts of the wireform. A support stent having an upper surface matching the lower surface of the wireform sandwiches the edges of the leaflet subassembly therebetween. Separated tabs on the leaflet subassembly are passed through the wireform commissures and attached to adjacent stent commissures so as to induce clamping of the leaflet tabs between the stent commissures and wireform commissures upon a radially inward force being applied to the leaflets. |
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION Directed to achieving the foregoing objective and to remedying the problems in the prior art, disclosed herein are novel tissue heart valve constructions and components thereof, and simplified methods of fabricating the same.
The improved tissue heart valves of the present invention are fabricated to include standardized leaflet structure subassemblies that can be modified readily to adapt to different intended applications.
Of equal importance, the leaflet structure subassemblies uniformly distribute tensile loads along the entire peripheral leaflet cusp, reducing stress points and significantly improving the long-term functionality of the valve assembly.
As an added benefit of the present invention, the stability and adaptability of the tissue valve subassembly is achieved through simplified manufacturing processes utilizing fewer steps and subassemblies.
This manufacturing protocol can be incorporated into branched, adaptable manufacturing techniques for the production of tissue heart valves having a variety of end uses.
Further, these improved construction techniques expedite the overall manufacturing process and improve the consistency of the tissue valves so produced while simultaneously reducing the need for post-assembly fine tuning and quality-control procedures.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a tissue-type heart valve includes a dimensionally stable, pre-aligned tissue leaflet subassembly, a generally circular wireform, and a generally circular support stent.
The wireform has a bottom surface dimensioned to receive the pre-aligned tissue leaflet subassembly in fixed, mating engagement.
The support stent has an upper surface dimensioned to seat and fix in meeting engagement with the pre-aligned tissue leaflet subassembly which is fixedly disposed in mating engagement with the bottom surface of the wireform.
Pursuant to this construction, an exemplary tissue valve includes a plurality of tissue leaflets that are templated and attached together at their tips to form a dimensionally stable and dimensionally consistent coapting leaflet subassembly
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Heart Surgery 
