Patent ID: 11957576
Assignee: EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES CORPORATION
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  Y | IPC A

Claim 13:
14. A method of delivering a heart valve through a sheath, the method comprising:
introducing the heart valve into a proximal end of a lumen formed by a polymeric layer, wherein the polymeric layer has a first portion having a first longitudinally extending edge and a second portion having a second longitudinally extending edge, wherein the polymeric layer has an inner surface and an outer surface, and wherein the polymeric layer is rolled into a partial coil configuration such that the inner surface of the second portion at least partially overlaps the outer surface of the first portion;
advancing the heart valve through the lumen of the polymeric layer such that the heart valve exerts a radially outward force on an inner surface of the polymeric layer locally expanding the sheath by sliding the first portion and the second portion such that the first longitudinally extending edge of the first portion is abut or in close proximity to the second longitudinally extending edge of the second portion and thereby locally expanding at least a portion of the sheath;
locally contracting the expanded sheath back to an unexpanded configuration by radially compressing the expanded portion with a radially inward bias of an elastic outer cover that extends around the polymeric layer.