Patent ID: 11872125
Assignee: EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES CORPORATION
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 10:
11. A system, comprising:
a delivery catheter comprising a balloon; and
an implantable prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
a plastically expandable and compressible unitary frame having an inflow end portion and an outflow end portion, the frame comprising at least three rows of angled struts that define two circumferentially extending rows of diamond-shaped cells that extend continuously around the frame, the at least three rows of angled struts including a first row of angled struts disposed adjacent a terminal inflow end of the frame and a second row of angled struts adjacent the first row,
a valvular structure comprising a plurality of leaflets formed of pericardial tissue, each leaflet having an upper edge, and a cusp edge portion, wherein each leaflet is secured to an adjacent leaflet to form a plurality of commissures that are fixed relative to the frame, and
an inner skirt disposed between the frame and the cusp edge portions of the leaflets;

wherein the cusp edge portion of each leaflet is connected to the inner skirt and the frame with whip stitches that extend through the cusp edge portion and the inner skirt, and around a first strut of the first row of angled struts, and a second strut of the second row of angled struts; and
wherein the implantable prosthetic heart valve can be mounted around the balloon in a compressed configuration and radially expanded to an expanded configuration with the balloon inside a patient's body.