US 4,297,749 A · Heart valve prosthesis

Abstract

A frame system for heart valve prosthesis. A first frame has at least three generally parallel legs each comprising a pair of rod portions connected at one end and diverging at the other end as lobes respectively connecting with rod portions of others of said legs. The lobes form an aperture therebetween and the legs are adapted to receive the margin of a valve leaflet between the rod portions thereof. Thus, the leaflet may be secured to two adjacent legs and the interconnecting lobe so as to have a free edge extending between said adjacent legs. A second frame is adapted to nest with the first frame and comprises a rod formed to be substantially congruent with the interconnecting lobes, whereby the leaflets may be secured to and between the frames.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A frame system for a heart valve prosthesis comprising:

a first frame having at least three generally parallel legs each comprising a pair of rod portions connected at one end and diverging at the other end as lobes respectively connecting with rod portions of others of said legs, the lobes forming an aperture therebetween, said legs being adapted to receive the margin of a valve leaflet between the rod portions thereof, whereby said leaflet may be secured to two adjacent legs and the interconnecting lobe so as to have a free edge extending between said adjacent legs;
and a second frame adapted to nest with said first frame comprising a rod formed in a closed loop to be substantially congruent with each of said interconnecting lobes between the points of divergence at said other ends of each of said pairs of rod portions, whereby said leaflet may be secured to a lobe by passing it between said frames.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Heart valve prosthesis

Life of this patent

Heart valve prosthesis

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims6