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US 7,682,304 B2Granted
Composite heart valve apparatus manufactured using techniques involving laser machining of tissue
AssigneeMedtronic, Inc.
InventorsChristine Heyninck-Jantz, Debra Taitague, Tomas R. McNatt
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Abstract
Methodology for using laser machining techniques to modify a tissue for use in a medical device. In a representative mode of practice, relatively low energy laser machining is used to thin down at least a portion of a valved jugular vein. The thinned down vein may then be sutured to, or otherwise integrated with, a corresponding stent to make a percutaneous heart valve.
Claims9
A method of making a composite medical device, comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a tissue comprising a leaflet-based valve;
- b) rotating the valved tissue;
- c) aiming a laser obliquely at the rotating tissue;
- d) using the obliquely aimed laser to ablate at least a portion of the tissue in a manner effective to reduce a wall thickness of the tissue along a length of the tissue;
- and
- e) integrating components comprising the ablated tissue and a nontissue component together to form the composite medical device.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.