Flow control valve

A surgically implantable flow control valve for controlling the flow of fluid from one portion of the human body to another, said valve comprising:

• an inlet;
• an outlet;
• a relatively rigid base forming a wall separating said inlet from said outlet;
• an aperture through said wall for permitting flow of the fluid through said valve from said inlet to said outlet;
• a flow control member, including a central support and a resilient membrane, said central support being securely attached to said wall adjacent said aperture and extending therefrom on the outlet side of said wall to support said membrane, said membrane being generally arch-shaped and resiliently biased to normally contact the outlet side of said wall generally along the outer edges of said membrane in a manner surrounding said aperture and forming a releasable seal between the outlet side of said wall and the outer edges of said membrane;
• means for indicating the proximal-to-distal flow path through said valve, said indicating means being X-ray detectable after implantation of said valve in the body;
• an inlet radiopaque marker generally situated adjacent a portion of said inlet;
• and
• an outlet radiopaque marker generally situated adjacent a portion of said outlet.

A surgically implantable flow control valve for controlling the flow of fluid from one portion of the human body to another, said valve comprising:

• an inlet including an inlet chamber;
• an outlet including and outlet chamber;
• a base of unitized construction including a rigid plate which resists deformation, said plate having an inlet surface in communication with said inlet chamber and an outlet surface in communication with said outlet chamber;
• an aperture through said plate for permitting flow of the fluid through said valve from said inlet chamber to said outlet chamber;
• a flow control member including a central support and a resilient membrane, said central support being securely attached to said outlet surface and extending therefrom to support said resilient membrane, said resilient membrane being generally arch-shaped so that the outer edges of said membrane normally contact said outlet surface in a manner surrounding said aperture;
• means for occluding said inlet;
• and
• means for occluding said aperture in a manner preventing fluid communication between said inlet chamber and said outlet chamnber.

A surgically implantable flow control valve for controlling the flow of fluid from one portion of the human body to another, said valve comprising:

• an inlet;
• an outlet;
• a base including a plate having an inlet surface in communication with said inlet and an outlet surface in communication with said outlet;
• an aperture through said plate permitting said inlet to communicate with said outlet;
• a flow control member including a central support and a resilient membrane, said central supporting being securely attached to said outlet surface and extending therefrom to supporting said resilient membrane, said resilient membrane being generally arch-shaped so that the outer edges of said membrane normally contact said outlet surface in a manner surrounding said aperture;
• an inlet radiopaque marker situated adjacent a portion of said inlet;
• and
• an outlet radiopaque marker situated ajacent a portion of said outlet.

A surgically implantable flow control valve for controlling the flow of fluid from one portion of the human body to another, said valve comprising:

• a base of unitized construction, including a substantially rigid plate having an inlet surface and an outlet surface, an inlet connector integral with said plate, and an outlet connector integral with said plate, said inlet surface of said plate having a first surface and a second surface;
• an inlet passageway through said base, said inlet passageway originating at an open end of said inlet connector and terminating at an inlet port on said first surface;
• an outlet passageway through said base, said outlet passageway originating at an outlet port adjacent said outlet surface and terminating at an open end of said outlet connector;
• an inlet chamber adjacent said inlet surface, said inlet chamber communicating with said inlet passageway at said inlet port;
• an outlet chamber adjacent said outlet surface, said outlet chamber communicating with said outlet passageway at said outlet port;
• a plate passageway permitting fluid communication between said inlet chamber and said outlet chamber;
• a flow control member including a central support and a resilient membrane, said central support being securely attached to said base plate and extending therefrom into said outlet chamber to support said membrane, said membrane being generally arch-shaped and resiliently biased to normally contact said outlet surface generally along the outer edges of said membrane in a manner surrounding said plate passageway;
• and
• means for indicating the proximal-to-distal flow path through said valve, said indicating means being X-ray detectable after implantation of said valve in the body.

A surgically implantable flow control valve for controlling the flow of fluid from one portion of the human body to another, said valve comprising:

• an inlet;
• an outlet;
• a base including a plate having an inlet surface in communication with said inlet and an outlet surface in communication with said outlet;
• an aperture through said plate permitting said inlet to communicate with said outlet;
• and
• a flow control member including a central support and a resilient membrane, said central support being securely attached to said outlet surface and extending therefrom to support said resilient membrane, said resilient membrane being generally arch-shaped so that the outer edges of said membrane contact said outlet surface in a manner surrounding said aperture.