Patent ID: 9554897
Date: 2017-01-31
CPC Classifications: A61F

Claim:
1. A prosthetic valve comprising: a self-expanding frame having a superior end, an inferior end, and a midsection therebetween, wherein the frame has an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration, the collapsed configuration adapted to be delivered to a patient's heart, and the expanded configuration adapted to anchor the self-expanding frame in the patient's heart, wherein the frame comprises: a self-expanding atrial skirt adjacent the superior end, wherein the atrial skirt forms a flanged region after self-expansion thereof, the flanged region configured to anchor the self-expanding frame to an atrial surface of the heart, and wherein the flanged region comprises an edge of a flange; a self-expanding ventricular skirt adjacent the inferior end, wherein the ventricular skirt anchors the self-expanding frame to a ventricular surface of the heart after self-expansion thereof; and a first self-expanding tab adjacent the inferior end and coupled with the ventricular skirt, the first self-expanding tab having a tip, wherein the first tab radially self-expands when a constraint is removed therefrom, and wherein a receptacle is formed by an area bounded by an outer surface of the atrial skirt, an outer surface of the ventricular skirt, and an inner surface of the first tab, and wherein a window is defined by a gap between the edge of the flange and the tip of the first tab, and wherein the gap is maximized when the tip of the first tab is unconstrained such that the tab expands radially outward to a position that is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the self-expanding frame and while a base of the first tab is at least partially constrained, and wherein the gap is minimized when the tip of the first tab is unconstrained such that the tip moves back radially inward from the transverse position when the base of the first tab is also unconstrained, and wherein the base of the first tab expands radially outward when the base is unconstrained.