Compact crimping device

A method of crimping a heart valve, the method comprising the steps of

• Providing a prosthetic heart valve;
• Providing a heart valve crimping device comprising
• a plurality of crimping jaws in meshing engagement and circumferentially arranged around a crimping orifice having a central crimping axis, each having inner crimping wedges;
• a rotating cam wheel adapted to act on the crimping jaws and displace them generally radially inward;
• a stationary outer housing containing the cam wheel and crimping jaws;
• and
• a plurality of guide elements positioned between the plurality of crimping jaws and the outer housing, the guide elements being constrained by fixed grooves in the outer housing for movement between first and second positions along tangential lines that are tangential to a circle around the central axis, the guide elements and moving at least some of the crimping jaws having cooperating slot and rail structure that permits relatively linear movement therebetween, wherein rotation of the cam wheel causes all of the crimping wedges of the crimping jaws to translate inward along radial lines toward the crimping axis and by virtue of the cooperating slot and rail structure displaces the guide elements toward the second positions along the tangential lines.
• Inserting, into the orifice, the heart valve, and causing the cam wheel to rotate.