Patent ID: 11896485
Assignee: EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES CORPORATION
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A minimally-invasive prosthetic heart valve delivery system, comprising:
an introducer sheath with a lumen therethrough;
a balloon catheter having a distal end with a balloon thereon, the balloon having a prosthetic-valve receiving portion; and
a radially-expandable prosthetic heart valve comprising a support stent and a valve portion, wherein the radially-expandable prosthetic heart valve is configured to be crimped on the prosthetic-valve receiving portion of the balloon;
wherein the balloon catheter comprises a tapered distal tip positioned on the balloon catheter distally of the prosthetic-valve receiving portion, wherein an outer dimension of the balloon catheter having the prosthetic heart valve thereon is small enough to pass through the introducer sheath lumen;
a maximum diameter of the tapered distal tip being at least substantially equal to a valve delivery diameter of the prosthetic heart valve,
wherein the system includes:
a balloon catheter shaft, the balloon being on a distal end of the catheter shaft, and the distal tip being distal of the balloon, wherein the distal tip further includes an inner portion for engaging the balloon catheter shaft;
the inner portion of the distal tip comprising a balloon-receiving notch in a proximal end of the distal tip, the balloon-receiving notch having a first diameter;
the inner portion of the distal tip further comprising a catheter-receiving portion distal to the balloon-receiving notch, the catheter-receiving portion having a second diameter that is less than the first diameter of the balloon-receiving notch; and
the inner portion of the distal tip further comprising a guidewire lumen distal to the catheter-receiving portion, the guidewire lumen having a third diameter that is less than the second diameter of the catheter-receiving portion;
the tapered distal tip having a fourth diameter adjacent to the balloon-receiving notch, the tapered distal tip widening distally along a Length 1 from the fourth diameter to a wider fifth diameter, the fifth diameter being greater than the fourth diameter;
the tapered distal tip extending distally at the fifth diameter along a Length 2;
the tapered distal tip having an end tapered portion extending from a distal end of Length 2 at the fifth diameter to a narrow portion having a sixth diameter at a distal end of the end tapered portion;
the end tapered portion having increased flexibility toward the distal end of the end tapered portion and reduced flexibility at a proximal end of the end tapered portion; and
the end tapered portion being spring-like and biased into a curved configuration, wherein the end tapered portion is adapted to straighten from the curved configuration to a straightened configuration when a guidewire passes through an opening at the distal end of the end tapered portion.