Patent ID: 11951002
Assignee: TENDYNE HOLDINGS, INC
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A | IPC A

Claim 0:
1. A prosthetic heart valve system comprising:
a prosthetic heart valve having an expandable frame assembly including an inner frame and an outer frame, and a prosthetic valve assembly disposed within the inner frame, the prosthetic valve assembly configured to allow blood to flow in a direction from an inflow end of the inner frame toward an outflow end of the inner frame and to block blood from flowing from the outflow end of the inner frame toward the inflow end of the inner frame, the inner frame including a tether connecting portion, wherein the inner frame includes a plurality of struts that extend radially inwardly toward a radial center of the inner frame, the tether connecting portion being coupled to the plurality of struts so that the tether connecting portion is positioned at the radial center of the inner frame;
an anchor adapted to be disposed on or adjacent an epicardial surface of a heart of a patient; and
a tether having a distal end fixedly coupled to the anchor, the tether extending proximally from the anchor, the tether defining a protrusion having a width greater than portions of the tether adjacent the protrusion,
wherein the tether extends through the tether connection portion and is slidably coupled to the tether connection portion so that the prosthetic heart valve can translate along the tether toward the distal end of the tether while the distal end of the tether is fixedly coupled to the anchor, the protrusion of the tether configured to engage the tether connecting portion to prevent proximal movement of the prosthetic heart valve relative to the tether,
wherein the tether connecting portion includes a flap hingedly coupled to the tether connecting portion, the flap moveable between an open position in which the prosthetic heart valve may translate distally over the protrusion, and a closed position preventing proximal translation of the prosthetic heart valve over the protrusion relative to the tether, the tether connection portion including a stem body that includes a rim, the flap abutting and contacting the rim in the closed position, the flap spaced away from the rim in the open position.