| US 7,481,838 B2 | ||
| Flexible heart valve and associated connecting band | ||
| Alain F. Carpentier, Paris (France); Stefan G. Schreck, Vista, Calif. (US); Richard S. Rhee, Diamond Bar, Calif. (US); Diana Nguyen-Thien-Nhon, Santa Ana, Calif. (US); Hung Ly Lam, Norco, Calif. (US); and William Recktenwald, Clarence Ctr., N.Y. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Irvine, Calif. (US) | ||
| Filed on Dec. 05, 2003, as Appl. No. 10/729,035. | ||
| Application 10/729035 is a continuation of application No. 09/847930, filed on May 03, 2001, granted, now 6,736,845. | ||
| Application 09/847930 is a continuation in part of application No. 09/332759, filed on Jun. 14, 1999, granted, now 6,558,418. | ||
| Claims priority of provisional application 60/117445, filed on Jan. 26, 1999. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2004/0148018 A1, Jul. 29, 2004 | ||
| This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer. | ||
| Int. Cl. A61F 2/24 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 623—2.18 | 34 Claims |
| 1. A prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
a flexible stent having alternating inflow cusps and outflow commissures;
a plurality of flexible leaflets attached to the stent so as to form a one-way valve within the stent; and
a suture-permeable connecting band attached to the stent providing outer free margins in the assembled heart valve and a flexible
interface for suturing the valve to surrounding host tissue;
wherein the connecting band closely conforms to the alternating stent cusps and commissures and defines an axial gap along
the commissures opening in the inflow direction for enhancing freedom of movement of the stent cusps, and
wherein the stent has bioresorbable commissures and is designed to separate the valve into individual leaflets after implant,
and the connecting band is discontinuous at the stent commissures.
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