Stress Reduction in Prosthetic Heart Valve Leaflets

Collapsible transcatheter heart valve with a single flexible leaflet made of biocompatible tissue like pericardium. The leaflet has a body that can flex between open and closed positions, with a separate extension integral to the body. This allows the leaflet to move independently from the frame during valve closure, reducing stress concentrations compared to fixed leaflets. The flexible leaflet design provides improved durability for single leaflet valves by distributing closing forces over the leaflet area instead of concentrating them on a single point.

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Heart valve prosthesis to reduce thrombus formation by using a capsule connected to the stent that expands and collapses around the commissure points between the artificial valve leaflets. The capsule has a gap facing the outflow end. When the valve opens, the capsule is collapsed, allowing full blood flow. When the valve closes, the capsule expands around the leaflet commissures to seal, preventing blood flow stagnation and thrombus formation.

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Prosthetic heart valve with asymmetric leaflets that reduce the possibility of occlusion volume and blood stagnation near the leaflets and attachment to the support structure. The leaflets have different sized regions on each side that move asymmetrically. In the open position, the smaller side region extends further into the lumen than the larger side region. This asymmetry helps synchronize flow and prevent retrograde flow. The leaflets also have asymmetric attachment points to the frame. The leaflet base is smaller than the side regions, causing them to pivot asymmetrically.

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Transcatheter prosthetic heart valves that can be compressed for delivery via a catheter without damaging the leaflets. The valves have a skirt that fully encapsulates the leaflets both when compressed and expanded. This prevents localized forces from deforming the leaflets during compression. The skirt extends beyond the leaflet edges in the compressed state to protect them. The skirt also extends past the coaptation area in the expanded state. This configuration allows consistent loading of the valve into a compact catheter shape without risking leaflet damage.

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Artificial heart valve design with improved durability and reduced calcification compared to traditional valves. The valve has a unique fixation mechanism for the leaflets to attach to the stent. The stent has a walled groove that the leaflets pass through and connect to. This allows evenly fixing the leaflets to the stent without wrinkles. This reduces stress concentration and calcification compared to sewing the leaflets to the stent. The smooth leaflet attachment prevents tears and calcification from blood flow impact.

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An artificial heart valve design to improve durability and reduce replacement frequency. The valve has a reinforcing layer added to the leaflets and a suture ring around the frame. The reinforcing layer increases leaflet strength and fatigue resistance. The suture ring provides additional support and anchoring for the valve in the native annulus. The reinforcing layer is fixed to the leaflet base and extends into the suture ring. This disperses stress and prevents concentration at the leaflet base. The suture ring can extend into the aorta or left atrium for secure anchoring.

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Valve prosthesis design for heart valve replacements that improves leaflet closure, stability, and reduces calcification compared to conventional designs. The valve prosthesis has a stent, valve leaflets, and a unique connector between them. The connector folds around the stent rod to accommodate it. The folded connector has extended parts that attach to the leaflets and connect them to the stent. This arrangement allows the leaflets to fully close around the stent and provides stable attachment without stress concentrations that can calcify the leaflets.

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Artificial polymer heart valve design with improved fatigue resistance and longer service life compared to conventional valves. The valve has a hollow frame with peaks at one end and multiple leaflets connecting adjacent peaks. The leaflets have a curved shape with at least one thinned region along the curve. The thinned regions increase stress dispersion and reduce peak stresses compared to uniform thickness leaflets. This improves fatigue resistance and extends valve life. The thinned regions also allow earlier leaflet opening for better overall valve performance.

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Prosthetic heart valve design with reduced contact between the valve supports and the balloon of a delivery catheter when compressing the valve for implantation. The valve has a collapsible frame with angled supports. The leaflets have connecting skirts with central portions and base portions. The skirts attach the leaflet edges to the frame supports. This configuration allows the leaflet cusps to fold into the frame instead of directly contacting the balloon when compressing the valve for delivery. An external sealing member around the frame further isolates the leaflet edges from the balloon.

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A prosthetic tricuspid valve that can be implanted in a native tricuspid valve without direct attachment to the annulus or chordae tendineae. The valve has asymmetrical support structures that grasp the native leaflets and allow the prosthetic valve to move with the native valve during the cardiac cycle. This biodynamic design preserves native annulus motion and prevents issues like heart block. The valve has leaflets, covers, and arms that attach to the native leaflets and surround the native annulus.

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Valve tear-resistant structure for prosthetic heart valves that improves durability by protecting both sides of the artificial valve leaflet. The structure uses a folded U-shaped wear strip that encloses the inflow end of the leaflet and connects it to the valve frame. This provides complete wraparound protection for the inflow edge, preventing tear-out when suturing the leaflet to the frame. The strip also covers the leaflet near the axial side of the frame, which is exposed to suture tension.

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Artificial heart valve with improved coordination between leaflets to reduce regurgitation and prolong valve life. The leaflets have connecting ears on each side that have aligned holes. A flexible connector with matching holes is inserted through the holes to join the adjacent leaflets. This allows motion transmission between the leaflets for better coordination and reduces regurgitation compared to sewn leaflets with variable heights.

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Prosthetic heart valve with adjustable commissure supports that allow the valve to be expanded to a wide range of diameters while maintaining proper leaflet coaptation. The commissure supports have adjustable arms that can be rotated or twisted to adjust the tension on the attached leaflets. This allows customizing the valve diameter for each patient by adjusting the commissure support arms to match the expansion diameter of the valve frame. A delivery assembly allows in-situ adjustment of the commissure supports after valve implantation.

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Prosthetic heart valve design that improves durability and prevents leaflet damage by using a skirt between the leaflets and frame. The skirt buffers the leaflets from direct contact with the frame when they close, preventing concentrations of stress that can tear or damage the leaflets. The skirt also provides reinforcement at the connection points between the skirt and frame. The skirt is sewn to the leaflet first, then to the frame, allowing the skirt to act as a cushion between the leaflet and frame. This prevents direct pulling forces on the leaflets when they close. The skirt also provides a reinforced area at the connection points between the skirt and frame, which reduces stress concentrations and makes the area flat for easier handling.

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Artificial heart valve made of polymer material that overcomes some limitations of existing mechanical and biological valves. The polymer valve has leaflets that are arranged along the circumference of the valve and meet at junctions. In the natural state, the valve is not fully closed but has gaps between the leaflets. This allows blood to flow through the valve more easily compared to fully closed polymer valves. The leaflets have curved surfaces with different upper curves that converge at the junctions. This configuration reduces stress concentrations and transvalvular pressure differences during opening.

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Synthetic flexible leaflet prosthetic heart valve design with improved durability and transcatheter delivery capabilities. The valve has a unique leaflet shape with truncated bases that attach to a frame. The truncated bases prevent creasing and stress concentration when the leaflets close. The frames overlap to provide structural support. The frames are coated with a film to prevent contact. This allows the valve to compress and expand for transcatheter delivery. The frames and leaflets have isosceles triangular shapes. The valve aims to provide a durable synthetic valve for transcatheter implantation that can replace bioprosthetic valves.

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A prosthetic heart valve design to reduce tissue trauma and stress during implantation compared to traditional stented valves. The valve has an annular frame with a valvular structure of leaflets. The leaflet inflow edges extend outside the frame. An inner skirt partially surrounds the frame inside. Alternatively, an outer support layer extends beyond the frame inflow end. This allows the leaflet inflow edges to be unsupported by the frame. This reduces interaction between the frame and native tissue at the annulus and LVOT, potentially avoiding rupture and trauma during implantation.

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Prosthetic heart valve design that improves sealing, blood flow, and reduces complications compared to conventional valves. The valve has a raised atrial halo structure that elevates the leaflets above the native annulus. This encourages complete leaflet coaptation to prevent regurgitation. The halo structure also allows proper leaflet alignment for efficient ventricular filling. The valve has a compliant outer support that seats securely in the annulus without excessive loads on the inner valve assembly. This reduces wear and degradation. The valve also has a pocket that retains thrombus to reduce leakage.

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A percutaneously-deliverable heart valve prosthesis with a self-expanding frame and an asymmetric hourglass shape that conforms to patient anatomy while maintaining proper valve function. The frame has a conical inflow section, an enlarged distal section, and a constriction region with a predefined curvature. The valve body with three leaflets is attached to the frame. The leaflet ends fold over to form commissures that align with frame contours. This reduces stress concentrations. The asymmetric frame allows adaptation to patient anatomy while the constriction section maintains valve function.

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A valve prosthesis design that improves closure, stability, and reduces calcification risk compared to conventional artificial heart valves. The prosthesis has a valve leaflet connector that folds around the support rod to connect the leaflet to the stent. This configuration improves leaflet closure, reduces stress concentration, and prevents calcification compared to attaching the leaflet directly to the stent.

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Artificial heart valve prosthesis to improve durability and prevent calcification of the leaflets by dispersing the stress and preventing sliding. The valve has a stent with windows, leaflets with protrusions, and an intervening sheet. The windows are at the joints and the leaflet protrusions cover them. This disperses the stress at the joint-leaflet connection. The sheet covers the joint outer surface. The leaflet protrusions pass through the sheet and windows. This prevents sliding and further disperses stress.

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Assembling commissures for prosthetic heart valves using folded leaflet tabs to reduce wear and simplify assembly compared to sutures. The method involves folding the commissure tabs of adjacent leaflets into overlapping layers, with the outer edges folded inward. These folded tabs are then joined together and attached to the valve frame using separate fasteners. The folded tabs are positioned tangential to the valve circumference outside the leaflet body. This allows the leaflets to move independently during valve operation while the commissures are fixed. The folded tabs provide a secure, wear-resistant commissure connection without stitching the leaflets directly to the frame.

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Prosthetic heart valve with flexible leaflets to reduce blood stasis and clotting. The valve has overlapping leaflets that prevent retrograde flow when closed. The leaflets have spacers inside to allow fluid exchange between the leaflet layers during forward flow. This prevents stasis and reduces clotting compared to solid leaflets. The leaflets also have porous layers with elastomeric filler to prevent fluid penetration. The valve frame has an expandable design for minimally invasive implantation.

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Prosthetic heart valves with synthetic leaflets that are heat treated to improve motion and coaptation. The leaflets are made from synthetic materials like UHMWPE, PTFE, or polyurethane. Heat setting the leaflets at temperatures between 90-170°C for 20-30 seconds biases the leaflets towards either the closed or open position. Folds or creases formed during heat setting further guide leaflet motion. This heat treatment provides a more uniform leaflet shape and motion compared to untreated synthetic leaflets.

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Artificial heart valve leaflets that avoid collapsing after long-term use to reduce the risk of central regurgitation. The valve leaflets have separate closing walls connected to a joint portion. Each closing wall has a corresponding pulling portion attached. When the valve is open, the closing walls separate and the pulling portions are relaxed. When closed, the walls enclose and the pulling portions straighten. This allows fatigued walls to be pulled by the pulling portions to maintain closure.

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An artificial heart valve prosthesis design that improves the durability and lifespan of the valve by preventing excessive forces on the valve leaflets during operation. The valve has a unique configuration where the leaflets attach at the top to the inflow end of the stent and at the bottom to the outflow end. This allows the leaflets to open without forming an angle with the blood flow direction, reducing the radial component force on the leaflets. This avoids interference with the stent inner wall and friction that shortens valve life. The leaflets remain fixed at the top and bottom ends during closure to prevent excessive force.

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Artificial heart valve prosthesis with improved durability and reduced stress on the valve leaflets. The valve has a stent with windows, joints, and protrusions. The leaflets have protrusions that cover the joints and windows. This disperses stress and prevents calcification at the leaflet-stent connections. Additionally, an intermediate piece covers the joints to reduce friction and wear.

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Partially reinforced textile-based artificial heart valve leaflets that have improved durability and hemodynamics compared to conventional leaflets. The valve leaflets are made by selectively enhancing specific areas like the attachment edge, joint, and free edge using jacquard weaving techniques. These areas are reinforced with higher tightness, thickness, or both to match the functional requirements. This provides targeted property enhancement without compromising overall valve flexibility. The reinforced areas reduce stress concentration and tearing compared to uniform leaflets.

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Collapsible, expandable tissue-based replacement heart valves that can be delivered percutaneously and implanted in the mitral valve without open surgery. The valves have a unique crescent shape with an atrial portion to prevent leakage and a ventricular portion to displace diseased leaflets. They also have fixation members that lock into the mitral annulus. The valves can be crimped and delivered through catheters, then expanded in place. The atrial portion conforms to the annulus, and the fixation members secure the valve. The valves have flexible prosthetic leaflets that coapt with the native leaflets. The design aims to prevent dislodgement, paravalvular leakage, and further mitral annulus dilation.

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A mechanical heart valve with improved leaflet guidance and wear resistance. The valve has an annular support with extensions and lower bearings, plus upper bearings for each leaflet. The upper bearings have inclined intermediate sections that the leaflet contacts as it opens. This prevents concentrated loading and wear at the leaflet edges. The lower bearings prevent excessive leaflet motion in the closed position. The recessed extensions guide the leaflet ends during closure. This allows the leaflets to rotate about apexes of the upper bearings when opening, avoiding wear on the rotational sections. The leaflets contact the bearings at locations away from their rotation points.

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A prosthetic heart valve design to minimize stress on the valve leaflets for improved durability. The valve has a collapsible stent frame with flexible connections between the stent cells. The flexible stent has a main body with proximal and distal ends, support struts, and one or more support posts. The stent cells at the proximal and distal ends are longitudinally spaced apart.

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Artificial heart valve design with flexible leaflets that have a favorable shape to improve durability and performance compared to valves replicating natural valves. The leaflets have a central plane region with a flat area that extends to the leaflet edges. This shape prevents creases and folds that can cause stress and failure. The flat area becomes wider toward the base, and the leaflet width at the top is greater than zero. The flat region allows full bonding when closed. The leaflets also have a junction area that contacts adjacent leaflets when closed, with a defined joint height. This prevents escape and improves sealing. The shape reduces leaflet buckling and improves durability of synthetic leaflets compared to natural valve replicas.

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Artificial heart valve leaflet that prevents collapse and central regurgitation over time due to fatigue. The leaflet has multiple closing walls connected to a central body. Pulling tabs are attached to some of the closing walls and connect to a bracket. In the open position, the closing walls are separated and the tabs relaxed. In the closed position, all walls enclose and the tabs straighten. This allows the closing walls to be pulled by the tabs if they fatigue, preventing collapse and maintaining seal. The leaflet is used in a heart valve prosthesis where the leaflet is attached to the stent and the tabs connect to the stent bracket.

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Self-expanding mitral and tricuspid valve prosthesis to replace diseased native valves with improved durability and prevention of prolapse/evertion. The prosthesis has a main body implanted at the annulus, artificial leaflets fixed to it, and chordae connecting the leaflets. The chordae limit leaflet motion to prevent prolapse/evertion. The connecting portion between chordae and leaflets avoids direct attachment to reduce stress on the leaflets. This increases durability compared to directly connecting chordae to leaflets.

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Artificial heart valve leaflet design to prevent regurgitation and reduce transvalvular pressure difference compared to existing artificial valves. The leaflets have overlapping main body walls and closing walls when closed, providing complete leaflet closure and avoiding regurgitation. This is achieved by having a main body wall and a separate closing wall on each leaflet that overlap when the valve is closed. This eliminates gaps between overlapping leaflets and prevents blood reflux. When the valve is open, the leaflets still overlap at the main body walls to ensure closure. The additional closing walls also help increase closure force.

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Crushable and expandable prosthetic heart valves that can be delivered minimally invasively and have improved reliability. The valves have a leaflet structure with a porous synthetic polymer membrane layer sandwiched between synthetic polymer membrane layers. The porous layer allows flow and prevents backflow. The valves also have features like loops, retaining elements, and guide protrusions to secure the leaflets during expansion. The porous membrane prevents collapse during delivery and expansion. The composite leaflet construction improves crushability, expandability, and performance reliability compared to solid leaflets.

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Self-expanding mitral and tricuspid valve prosthesis to replace diseased native valves that reduces leaflet stress and increases durability compared to traditional valve replacements. The prosthesis has a main body implanted at the annulus, leaflets attached to the body, and chordal structures connecting the leaflets. The chordal structures limit leaflet movement to prevent prolapse/eversion. The connecting portions between leaflets and chordae indirectly connect the leaflets to reduce stress. This allows the chordae to pull the leaflets back into position if they prolapse. The chordae also prevent collisions between leaflets.

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Biocompatible prosthetic heart valves with improved durability for long-term implantation. The valves have leaflets made of a composite material with a fluoropolymer layer containing pores filled with an elastomer. The fluoropolymer layer has a matrix tensile strength ratio of less than 2 in the two orthogonal directions. This lower modulus fluoropolymer prevents stiffening and failure during flexure cycles. The elastomer-filled pores provide sacrificial compression and reduce stress concentration. The composite structure allows the leaflets to last over 400 million cycles in vitro and over 10 years in vivo without calcification.

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Artificial heart valve leaflet design to prevent regurgitation and reduce transvalvular pressure differences compared to existing artificial heart valves. The leaflets have overlapping main body and closing walls when closed to provide complete valve closure. This eliminates regurgitation and reduces the transvalvular pressure difference compared to incomplete closure. The overlapping walls also allow the leaflets to reset to the closed position after expansion. The leaflets can be made of elastic or shape memory materials to automatically close.

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An implantable prosthetic heart valve that can be delivered through a less invasive catheter and expanded inside the body to replace a diseased native valve. The valve has a crimpable frame with scalloped lower sections and attachments for flexible leaflets. The leaflets have scalloped lower edges that wrap around the scalloped frame sections. This allows the valve to be partially crimped for delivery and then expanded to functional size without tearing the leaflets. The scalloped leaflet and frame shapes maintain constant arc length during deployment.

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Artificial heart valve design that improves durability and reduces wear compared to conventional valves. The valve has leaflets that can coapt without excessive stretching. The leaflets are connected to a supporting element along a joint extending from the free edge parallel to the valve axis. This distributes stress over length instead of concentrating at the free edge. The leaflets can coapt even when not pulsating, with engagement height >0.1 mm along the edge. The valve can be made by folding, weaving, or double weaving fabric to form the leaflets and support. This allows leaflet engagement without extreme elongation.

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Artificial heart valve with improved durability compared to conventional designs. The valve has a leaflet that connects to the frame using an intermediate fixing member instead of directly suturing the leaflet to the frame. This prevents tearing and damage to the leaflet sutures as the valve opens and closes. The fixing member has a receiving groove that holds the leaflet edge, allowing the leaflet to move freely. The fixing member is also sutured to the frame separately. This reduces stress and strain on the leaflet-frame junction compared to direct suturing.

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A synthetic flexible leaflet prosthetic heart valve with improved durability compared to existing synthetic valves. The valve has a frame with leaflet windows and a film wrapped around it. The film forms the leaflets with a shape that minimizes creasing and stress concentration. The leaflets have a central flat region surrounded by triangular sides. This avoids intersecting creases and sharp bends that can cause damage. The film can also contain filler material to strengthen the pores. The valve can be delivered using a compressible catheter to implant in the heart.

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Prosthetic heart valve design to improve performance and reduce complications compared to existing valves. The valve has features like an elevated ring structure in the atrium to promote complete leaflet closure, a compliant cuff at the annulus to secure the valve, and a thrombus containment bag. These features aim to prevent regurgitation, leaks, erosion, thrombosis, and obstruction issues seen with conventional valves. The elevated atrial ring promotes complete leaflet closure during ventricular contraction. The compliant cuff provides annulus fixation. The thrombus bag captures blood clots inside the valve.

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A mechanical heart valve prosthesis that is specifically designed for implantation in the right ventricle to reduce the risk of blood clots compared to left ventricular implantation. The right ventricular valve has a different flow profile due to higher pressures, and lower flow through the valve hinge when closed. The valve is designed to address this by reducing turbulence, shear stress, and stagnant areas to prevent thrombus formation. This is achieved by optimizing the leaflet shape, hinge configuration, and flow geometry to minimize flow disturbances when the valve is closed. The aim is to provide a mechanical right ventricular heart valve prosthesis that reduces thrombus formation compared to a left ventricular valve implanted in the right ventricle.

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An artificial heart valve with improved commissure support that allows for a smaller profile for easier delivery while preventing leaflet damage during valve operation. The valve has a radially collapsible frame with angled commissure attachment portions. The leaflets attach to these portions, allowing them to move inward when the valve is open to avoid contact with the frame. This prevents leaflet wear while keeping the valve profile small for delivery through narrow vessels.

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Heart valve design that uses curved or bent fibers in the leaflets to improve function and durability compared to traditional valves. The fibers in the leaflets are oriented at an angle relative to the free edges. This causes the leaflets to form a pocket when closed, increasing overlap and coaptation height. It also reduces billowing and stresses in critical regions. The curved fiber arrangement can be used in prosthetic valves as well as chorded valves where the leaflets have tethers that anchor to tissue. The curved fibers enhance leaflet performance by changing the shape of the closed valve.

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Prosthetic heart valve design that reduces the risk of leakage and improves durability by ensuring proper leaflet coaptation without needing excessive elongation. The valve has a leaflet assembly where the leaflets can form a minimum coaptation height along the free margin even without pulsatile load. This is achieved by shaping the leaflets during manufacturing to impose a geometry that allows contact with the closure surface without stretching. The leaflets attach to a supporting element along a commissure that runs parallel to the flow direction. The valve can be made from woven fabrics using techniques like double weaving and thermal finishing to form the leaflets and supporting element layers.

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Flexible leaflet prosthetic heart valve design with improved durability and opening characteristics compared to conventional valves. The valve has leaflets divided into zones with curved central sections and straight side sections. This controlled bending prevents creasing and tearing during opening and closing. The valve also has a leaflet frame shape and material that promotes controlled leaflet motion. The leaflets are made by wrapping a film around a mandrel, placing it over the frame, and cutting it to shape. The film can be a composite of expanded fluoropolymer and elastomer to reinforce the leaflets.

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Artificial heart valve leaflets made from composite materials that combine expanded fluoropolymer membranes like PTFE with elastomers. The composites have expanded PTFE membranes with serpentine fibrils and elastomer present in the membrane pores. This allows the leaflets to bend and flex without wrinkling during valve operation. The composites exhibit significant elongation while retaining strength. They also have increased stiffness when stretched beyond a certain strain. This prevents excessive elongation. The composite leaflets offer durable, wrinkle-free valves with reduced stiffening compared to pure PTFE leaflets.

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