Prosthetic closure devices to replace the valves in human hearts

Abstract

A prosthetic closure device to replace a human heart valve, in particular the mitral or tricuspid valve, comprises an annular valve body, around the periphery of which a suture ring is provided for attaching the valve body to the heart tissue, and a valve member located in the valve body. The valve member is in the form of a spherical segment having a diameter of 1.058 D.sub.ri and comprising part of the surface of a hollow sphere having a diameter of 2D.sub.ri, where D.sub.ri is the smallest inner diameter of the valve body. The valve member is hinged to the valve body by means of a flap formed integrally with the valve member and which projects through a slot in the valve body, where it is secured by the suture ring, to form a hinge. The inner surface of the valve body narrows conically in the direction of inflow and subsequently widens to provide an annular seating for the valve member.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.