Patent ID: 7201772
Filing Date: 2007-04-10
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
1. A prosthetic device, comprising: a valve-orifice attachment member at an upstream end of said prosthetic device, said valve-orifice attachment member configured for attachment to a native valve site of a patient; a diverging blood flow pathway, comprising a pathway fluid inlet coupled to said valve-orifice attachment member, said diverging blood flow pathway defining a single blood flow field that extends downstream from said pathway fluid inlet, said pathway fluid inlet having at its narrowest cross-section a first cross-sectional area for blood flow therethrough, a pathway support configured for attachment to said pathway, and that is operative, when attached to said pathway, generally to maintain a diverging configuration of said diverging blood flow pathway, wherein, regardless of whether said pathway support is attached to said pathway, said second cross-sectional area is greater than said first cross-sectional area when said pathway is in said open position thereof.