Patent ID: 7399315

Claim:
A collapsible prosthetic heart valve, comprising: a collapsible leaflet frame having an inflow end and an outflow end and three cusp regions intermediate three commissure regions, the three cusp regions being positioned at the inflow end of the leaflet frame and circumferentially about a flow axis defined within the support frame, the three commissure regions being positioned at the outflow end of the leaflet frame and circumferentially about the flow axis; three separate, flexible leaflets attached to the leaflet frame, each leaflet having an arcuate cusp edge opposite a free edge and a pair of commissure edges therebetween, the leaflets being attached around the leaflet frame with the cusp edge of each leaflet extending along one of the cusp regions, and a commissure edge of each leaflet meeting a commissure edge of an adjacent leaflet at one of the commissure regions; and three cusp positioners integrally attached to the leaflet frame and disposed circumferentially about the flow axis, at least a portion of each cusp positioner being located adjacent to a flexible leaflet and axially positioned between the free edge and cusp edge of the flexible leaflet, the three cusp positioners extending radially farther outwardly than the three commissure regions and configured for engagement with native leaflets of a heart valve; wherein each cusp positioner has a U-shape with an apex of the U-shape pointing toward the outflow end of the leaflet frame and two legs of the U-shape pointing toward the inflow end.