Patent ID: 7556646

Claim:
A system for delivering and deploying an expandable prosthetic heart valve, comprising: an expandable prosthetic heart valve including a stent body having a plurality of biological tissue leaflets incorporated therein; a catheter shaft having a proximal end and a distal end and a lumen therethrough extending along an axis; a heart valve deployment mechanism extending axially from the distal end of the catheter shaft, the deployment mechanism including spaced apart proximal and distal deployment members for regulating self-expansion of the prosthetic heart valve, the proximal deployment member configured to apply a radially inward force along a proximal end portion of the stent body while the proximal deployment member engages an outer surface of the proximal end portion, and the distal deployment member configured to apply a radially inward force along a distal end portion of the stent body while the distal deployment member engages an outer surface of the distal end portion; and an actuating shaft extending though the lumen of the catheter shaft operable to actuate at least one of the proximal and distal deployment members.