Patent ID: 8382822

Claim:
A valve prosthesis for implantation within a vascular vessel, comprising: a support frame formed from a cannula, the support frame having a lengthwise axis and comprising a leaflet support portion and a circumferential centering support element disposed adjacent the leaflet support portion on the lengthwise axis; the leaflet support portion comprising a plurality of struts interconnected by bends and configured for expansion to conform to a wall of the vascular vessel and having a first end with only two bends and a second, opposite end with only two bends, the bends of the first end disposed on a first transverse axis and the bends of the second end disposed on a second transverse axis, the first transverse axis oriented approximately orthogonally with the second transverse axis; the circumferential centering support element comprising a ring-shaped frame having a plurality of struts interconnected by bends to define a zig-zag pattern with a third end and a fourth opposite end, two of the bends at the fourth end of the circumferential centering support element integral with the bends of the first end of the leaflet support portion and all ends at the third end of the circumferential centering support element extending away from the leaflet support portion and configured to provide outwardly-directed radial force for expansion of the circumferential centering support element to anchor the support frame to the wall of the vascular vessel; a covering attached to the leaflet support portion and adapted to move between a first position in which a passageway in said vascular vessel is open to fluid flow and a second position that closes the passageway in said vascular vessel, the covering comprising at least two leaflets that cooperatively form a valve opening that extends between the two bends at the first end of the leaflet support portion and the two bends at the fourth end of the circumferential centering support element.