A lubricated tubular graft is implanted in the inferior vena cava and the superior vena cava in order to control the inflow of blood to the right atrium. A bifurcated leg with a non-collapsing stent extends across the tricuspid valve. A bioprosthetic valve is positioned proximal of the stent in the bifurcated leg in order to regulate flow through the tricuspid valve and to eliminate tricuspid regurgitation.

Prosthetic heart valve leaflet with a fixed end and a free end characterized by the fact that it has a variable thickness.

There is provided a system for cardiac electromagnetic/magnetic catheterization for diagnosing and treating blood vessels of a patient. The system having at least one electromagnetic intraluminal capsule able to force its way through a narrowing blood vessel, the capsule carrying a camera allowing visualization of blood vessels of a patient. There is a portable electromagnetic tip, where the tip pulls the electromagnetic capsule by electromagnetic force, and when the magnetic tip moves along a body of a patient and pulls the intraluminal electromagnetic capsule along with it towards a narrowing blood vessel visualized by the camera, so that the capsule then treats the narrowing site and clears the blood vessel from coronary plaque. In addition working capsule can replace diseased valve in any cardiac position for either temporary or permanent needs.

A transcatheter prosthesis includes a stent, a prosthetic valve component, and an anti-paravalvular leakage component. The anti-paravalvular leakage component is coupled to the stent and includes an inner skirt, an outer wrap, a cavity, an opening, and a one-way valve. The inner skirt is disposed on an inner surface of the stent and has an inflow end and a downstream end. The outer wrap is disposed around an outer surface of the stent and has an inflow end coupled to the inflow end of the inner skirt and a downstream end. The cavity is formed between an outer surface of the inner skirt and an inner surface of the outer wrap. An opening is disposed between the inner skirt and the outer wrap. The one-way valve includes a flap at the opening configured to open to allow blood flow into the cavity but prevent blood flow out of the cavity.

A prosthetic valve comprises a self-expanding frame which includes a self-expanding atrial skirt that forms a flanged region, a self-expanding ventricular skirt, and a first self-expanding tab coupled with the ventricular skirt. A receptacle for receiving a valve leaflet is formed by the area bounded by an outer surface of the atrial skirt, an outer surface of the ventricular skirt, and an inner surface of the first tab. The receptacle has a window for receiving the valve leaflet that is defined by a gap between an edge of the flange and a tip of the first tab. The gap is maximized when the tip of the first tab is unconstrained and a base of the first tab is at least partially constrained. The gap is minimized when the tip of the first tab and its base are unconstrained.

Methods of delivering a prosthetic aortic heart valve are disclosed. The disclosed methods include loading a prosthetic aortic valve in a collapsed configuration into a delivery sheath so that a selected point on the prosthetic valve is rotationally aligned relative to a long axis of the delivery sheath with a selected radiopaque marker on the delivery sheath, while under fluoroscopic imaging, rotating the delivery sheath about its long axis to align a selected radiopaque marker on the delivery sheath with the selected point on the native aortic valve in a fluoroscopic imaging plane, thereby establishing a desired orientation of the prosthetic aortic valve with respect to the native aortic valve in which the prosthetic valve commissures are rotationally aligned with commissures of the native aortic valve, further advancing the delivery sheath along its long axis until the prosthetic aortic valve is disposed inside the native aortic valve, and deploying the prosthetic aortic valve into an implanted state inside the native aortic valve with the prosthetic aortic valve aligned in the desired orientation with respect to the native aortic valve.

A replacement mitral valve prosthesis includes a support structure and a valve body having three flexible leaflets. The support structure preferably includes an internal valve frame and an external sealing frame. The valve frame supports the flexible leaflets. The sealing frame is adapted to conform to the shape of the native mitral valve annulus. The sealing frame may be coupled to an inlet end of the valve frame, an outlet end of the valve frame, or both. A plurality of anchors is coupled to the outlet end of the valve frame. The anchors extend radially outwardly for placement behind native leaflets. The prosthesis preferably includes a skirt disposed along an exterior of the external sealing frame. The prosthesis is collapsible for delivery into the heart via a delivery catheter. The prosthesis is configured to self-expand for deployment in the heart when released from the delivery catheter.

A method of using a computer processor for grouping prosthetic valve leaflets of an aggregate of prosthetic valve leaflets is provided. For each leaflet of the aggregate, in response to an image parameter of the leaflet, a leaflet-flexibility value is derived. At least some of the leaflets of the aggregate are designated into leaflet groups, based on similarity between the respective leaflet-flexibility value of each leaflet of the aggregate. For each of the designated leaflet groups, the flexibility value of each leaflet in the designated leaflet group is within the intra-group tolerance with respect to the leaflet-flexibility value of each other leaflet in the designated leaflet group. An indication of the designated leaflet groups is outputted. Other embodiments are also described.

A prosthetic valve may be formed to direct flow out of the outflow orifice toward a posterior portion of a heart wall. The prosthetic valve includes an expandable frame which may be covered with a cover that is suturelessly attached to the frame. The prosthetic valve may also include an outflow orifice size which is controlled. Methods of using these devices are also disclosed.

A surgical prosthetic heart valve has a supporting structure and a plurality of leaflets, the supporting structure generally having an annular shape with a blood flow channel defined in the annular shape and having opposite inflow and outflow sides along an axial direction of the annular shape, the plurality of leaflets connected to the supporting structure to control the blood flow channel to open or close. The supporting structure includes a first annular band and a second annular band, both of which are provided with deformable sections spaced from each other in the circumferential direction for allowing diameter expansion of the respective annular bands. The surgical heart valve achieves the diameter expansion of the annular bands through the deformable sections, thereby addressing the problem of postoperative variation in a valve-in-valve operations.