Patent ID: 7503928

Claim:
An artificial valve prosthesis for regulating fluid flow through a body vessel, comprising: a support structure comprising an outer frame defining a lumen and a transverse member traversing the lumen and dividing the lumen into a first lumen segment and a second lumen segment; a first valve leaflet and a second valve leaflet, wherein portions of a perimeter of the first valve leaflet and portions of a perimeter of the second valve leaflet are attached to the transverse member and to the outer frame proximally of the traverse member, and wherein portions of the perimeter of the first and the second valve leaflets are not attached to the transverse member or the outer frame, wherein the first valve leaflet is positioned within the first lumen segment and the second valve leaflet is positioned within the second lumen segment, and wherein the first and second valve leaflets are deformable between a first position allowing fluid flow in a first, antegrade, direction to a second position restricting fluid flow in a second, retrograde, direction.