Patent ID: 11957579
Assignee: EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES CORPORATION
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A loader assembly for loading a transcatheter heart valve into a delivery sheath for delivering the heart valve into a body of a patient, the loader assembly comprising:
a loader tube comprising a tube wall defining a coaxial bore;
a hub attached to at least a proximal portion of the loader tube;
a cap coupled to a proximal-most end of the hub; and
at least one seal disposed in the cap and positioned proximal to the loader tube, the at least one seal being configured to maintain hemostasis in the loader tube when the coaxial bore of the loader tube is in communication with a blood vessel of the patient;
wherein the hub has a longitudinal slot, and wherein a portion of the loader tube is accessible through the slot to facilitate removal of the hub and the proximal portion of the loader tube to which the hub is attached from other portions of the loader tube,
wherein the loader tube is separable into two or more separate parts,
wherein the proximal portion of the loader tube has one or more score marks to facilitate separation of the loader tube into the two or more separate parts,
wherein the one or more score marks comprise two longitudinal score marks that are parallel to each other, and
wherein a circumferential width of the longitudinal slot of the hub is the same as or larger than a distance between the two longitudinal score marks on the proximal portion of the loader tube.