Patent ID: 7998196

Claim:
A replacement heart valve implantable in a patient, comprising: (a) a conduit formed with a tubular segment of an elastic material, wherein the conduit has a first end portion at a first end, an opposite, second end portion at a second end, an interior surface, an exterior surface, a longitudinal axis, and a diameter d 1 , and wherein a new first end portion is formed from the first end portion that is folded inside-out towards the second end portion such that the first end of the tubular segment reaches a position on the exterior surface; and (b) a plurality of cusps formed axially on and extending inwardly from the new first end portion along the longitudinal axis of the conduit, wherein each of the plurality of cusps has a corresponding line of one or more threads sewn longitudinally on the new first end portion, wherein the new first end portion has an axial distance d 2 along the longitudinal axis of the conduit that is substantially equal to d 1 , and wherein the conduit is formed from the tubular segment with the cusps that have been formed on the new first end portion, which is folded inside-out such that the exterior surface of the tubular segment and the interior surface of tubular segment exchange their geometric positions.