Alternate stent covering for tissue valves
AssigneeShiley Incorporated
InventorsMarian I. Ionescu, Jay A. Lenker, Philip S. Yang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A prosthetic heart valve comprising a stent having an annular base and a plurality of legs extending upwardly from said base; a valve element circumscribing said stent and attached thereto, said valving element comprising a number of cooperating valve leaflets equal to the number of said legs; and a layer of biologically-compatible material secured to said stent and positioned between said stent and said leaflets, said layer having a smooth, non-abrasive outer surface and covering all of the surfaces of said stent that, in the absence of said layer, would contact the mobile portions of said leaflets during the normal function of the valve.
Claims24
A prosthetic heart valve comprising:
- a stent having an annular base and a plurality of legs extending upwardly from said base;
- a valve element circumscribing said stent and attached thereto, said valving element comprising a number of cooperating valve leaflets equal to the number of said legs;
- and, for the purpose of avoiding abrasion damage caused by the rubbing of said leaflets over said stent,
- a layer of biologically-compatible material secured to said stent and positioned between said stent and said leaflets, said layer having a smooth, non-abrasive outer surface and covering all of the surfaces of said stent that, in the absence of said layer, would contact the mobile portions of said leaflets during the normal function of the valve.
A stent for use in a prosthetic heart valve, which comprises an annular base, a plurality of legs extending upwardly from said base and a layer of biologically-compatible material secured to and covering all the surfaces thereof, the said layer having a smooth, non-abrasive outer surface, the said outer-surface being that which contacts the mobile portions of the leaflets in the heart valve for which the stent is adapted to be used.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.