A sterile, packaged bioprosthetic heart valve includes an expandable support member, a bioprosthetic valve attached to the expandable support member, a layer of biocompatible material covering at least a portion of the expandable support member, and a microorganism-resistant container in which the bioprosthetic valve is sealed. The bioprosthetic valve includes a tissue component comprising glutaraldehyde-fixed bovine pericardium including interstices containing a dimensional stabilizer comprising an aqueous solution of propylene glycol.

The subject matter described herein relates to a process suitable for the production of an implantable medical device by means of a 3D printer. The process includes identifying an intended implant area for the medical device, collecting, in a non-invasive manner, a set of physiological data corresponding to the local anatomy of said intended implant area of the patient, noninvasively taking measurements from the set of physiological data of the patient with the aid of an analysis tool, and adding the characteristics of the medical device, which are specific to additive manufacturing, to thus generate a 3D model of the medical device to be produced. The process further includes exporting the 3D model of the medical device to be produced to the 3D printer suitable for printing a shape-memory material in which the parameters of the 3D printer are adapted to the geometry of the medical device.

A valve cover apparatus for use in a medical assembly including a prosthetic valve and a valve delivery apparatus. The valve cover apparatus includes a housing, a chamber disposed within the housing for receiving a prosthetic heart valve in an at least partially expanded state, a tapered surface defining a portion of the chamber, and a lock ring that is axially movable over at least a portion of the housing between a locked position and an unlocked position. The tapered surface is enables loading and/or guiding of the prosthetic heart valve from the chamber of the valve cover apparatus into a delivery sheath of the valve delivery apparatus and transition the prosthetic heart valve to a radially compressed state. The lock ring restricts movement of the valve cover relative to the delivery sheath when in the locked position, and enables movement of the valve cover when in the unlocked position.

The present disclosure relates to a delivery catheter and the stepwise release of a stent from the catheter into the vasculature of a patient, as well as a loading device for a transcatheter heart valve (THV) prosthesis.