Patent ID: 9592120
Date: 2017-03-14
CPC Classifications: A61F

Claim:
1. A catheter for delivering a valve prosthesis, the catheter comprising: a proximal delivery tube and a distal delivery tube configured to hold respective proximal and distal portions of the valve prosthesis; a tapered element slidably disposed within the distal delivery tube, wherein an outer diameter of a distal end of the tapered element is approximately equal to an inner diameter of the distal delivery tube; a first delivery shaft coupled to the tapered element; and a second delivery shaft coupled to the distal delivery tube, wherein the second delivery shaft is slidably disposed within the first delivery shaft such that distal advancement of the second delivery shaft relative to the first delivery shaft distally advances the distal delivery tube relative to the tapered element, wherein when the distal delivery tube is distally advanced, such that a distal portion of the tapered element is disposed within a proximal end of the distal delivery tube, the distal portion of the valve prosthesis is completely released from the distal delivery tube.