Patent ID: 7811315

Claim:
An implant valve for implantation in a blood vessel, comprising: a flexible tube; and a hollow, substantially cylindrical support extending over a part of a length of the flexible tube substantially coaxially along a wall of the tube, the support comprising a casing that is expandable in diameter from an initial position to an implantation position having an expanded diameter that causes the tube to contact an inner wall of the blood vessel, wherein the casing when expanded to the implantation position comprises: a first portion that supports a first part of the tube to provide a shell for clamping substantially coaxially along the inner wall of the blood vessel; and a second portion that configures a second, axially contiguous part of the tube to provide a flexible, tubular valve body, which in use extends substantially clear of the inner wall of the blood vessel; wherein the support includes an axially extending finger-shaped extension configured to support at least a portion of an inner wall of the second part of the tube that forms the flexible, tubular valve body, and wherein the flexible, tubular valve body formed from the flexible tube by the second portion of the casing is configured to allow blood to pass through in a first direction and to collapse so as to restrict passage of blood in a second direction opposite the first direction.