Patent ID: 8206438

Claim:
A percutaneously deployable prosthetic aortic valve for replacing a damaged or diseased native aortic valve, the prosthetic aortic valve comprising: a self-expanding, tubular stent body having an axial axis, an inflow end, and an outflow end, the stent body comprising a one-piece, nitinol wall defining an interior and an exterior of the stent body, the wall of the stent body comprising, from the inflow end to the outflow end of the prosthetic valve, an annulus anchoring section, a sinus section, and an outflow section, the sinus section of the wall of the stent body comprising a plurality of apertures dimensioned to permit blood flow therethrough, and the outflow section of the wall comprising at least one of an apertured lattice, a mesh, and a grid pattern; and a valve structure disposed within an interior of the sinus section of the stent body wall, the valve structure having an open state permitting blood flow from the inflow end to the outflow end of the prosthetic valve, and a closed state preventing blood flow from the outflow end to the inflow end of the prosthetic valve, the valve structure comprising three pericardium membrane leaflets, each leaflet comprising a free edge and a curved outer edge, the free edges of the leaflets dimensioned to coapt when the valve structure is in the closed state, the free edges of the leaflets meet the stent body at axially extending commissures, and the outer edges of the leaflets sutured to the sinus section of the stent body wall; wherein the prosthetic valve has a contracted configuration and an expanded configuration, in the expanded configuration, the outflow section of the stent body wall is flared outward from the sinus section for providing the outflow end with an expanded diameter larger than an expanded diameter at the inflow end, the flared outflow section of the stent body wall is dimensioned to contact an ascending aorta above the native aortic valve and is flexible for accommodating aortic wall movement, the annulus anchoring section is more rigid than the flared outflow section for providing a support structure for the leaflets, and the annulus anchoring section of the stent body wall is dimensioned to engage an annulus of the native aortic valve, and in the contracted configuration, the prosthetic valve is dimensioned for percutaneous delivery via a delivery catheter.