Patent ID: 8679174

Claim:
Catheter for the transvascular implantation of a valve prosthesis having a prosthetic valve attached to a support element, comprising: a cartridge unit holding the valve prosthesis in a collapsed state, the valve prosthesis comprising a first plurality of support hoops with attachment elements on end regions of the support hoops, the cartridge unit comprising a first sleeve-shaped element including anchoring elements on a distal region, wherein the attachment elements engage the anchoring elements, a second sleeve-shaped element, and a third sleeve-shaped element configured to at least partially surround the valve prosthesis such that the support hoops are radially inward of the third sleeve-shaped element; and operating elements disposed within a hollow guide system and extending to the cartridge unit, wherein the operating elements are configured to affect movement of the cartridge unit rotatably about its longitudinal axis to affect movement of the valve prosthesis rotatably and axially along its longitudinal axis; wherein axial movement between the second and third sleeve-shaped elements in substantially opposite directions is configured to affect a sequential release of the valve prosthesis from a collapsed state to an expanded state.