MULTI-LAYER STENT
A collapsible prosthetic heart valve includes a stent and a valve assembly. The stent includes an annulus section and at least one foldable section. The stent is movable between an unfolded condition in which the foldable section is longitudinally spaced from the annulus section, and a folded condition in which the foldable section is at least partially positioned radially adjacent the annulus section. The valve assembly is positioned within the annulus section of the stent in the folded condition of the stent.
1 . (canceled)
2 . A collapsible prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
a stent including a foldable section, an annulus section, and an aortic section arranged in series in a longitudinal direction, the stent being moveable between an unfolded condition in which the foldable section is spaced from the annulus section in the longitudinal direction, and a folded condition in which the foldable section at least partially overlaps with the annulus section, a direction of flow through the stent proceeding from the annulus section toward the aortic section; and
a valve assembly attached to the foldable section of the stent, the valve assembly including a plurality of leaflets defining a flow direction through the valve assembly, the flow direction through the valve assembly in the unfolded condition of the stent being opposite to the direction of flow through the stent, and the flow direction through the valve assembly in the folded condition of the stent being the same as the direction of flow through the stent.
3 . The collapsible prosthetic heart valve as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the stent has a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, the annulus section lengthening in the longitudinal direction by a first elongation percentage upon movement from the expanded condition to the collapsed condition, and the foldable section lengthening in the longitudinal direction by a second elongation percentage upon movement from the expanded condition to the collapsed condition, the first elongation percentage being greater than the second elongation percentage.
4 . The collapsible prosthetic heart valve as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the annulus section includes a plurality of cells, each cell having a substantially diamond shape with four corners when the stent is in the expanded condition.
5 . The collapsible prosthetic heart valve as claimed in claim 4 , wherein each cell in the annulus section includes two corners substantially aligned with one another in the longitudinal direction, the aligned corners each defining an obtuse angle in the expanded condition of the stent.
6 . The collapsible prosthetic heart valve as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the stent has a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, and the foldable section includes a plurality of cells, each cell having a substantially diamond shape with four corners when the stent is in the expanded condition.
7 . The collapsible prosthetic heart valve as claimed in claim 6 , wherein each cell in the foldable section includes two corners substantially aligned with one another in the longitudinal direction, the aligned corners each defining an acute angle in the expanded condition of the stent.
8 . The collapsible prosthetic heart valve as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the foldable section, the annulus section and the aortic section are formed integrally with one another.
9 . The collapsible prosthetic heart valve as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the foldable section is formed separately from the annulus section and connected to the annulus section.
10 . A collapsible prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
a stent including a foldable section, an annulus section and an aortic section arranged in series in a longitudinal direction, the stent being moveable between an unfolded condition in which the foldable section is spaced from the annulus section in the longitudinal direction, and a folded condition in which the foldable section at least partially overlaps with the annulus section, a direction of flow through the stent proceeding from the annulus section toward the aortic section, the stent having a collapsed condition and an expanded condition, the annulus section including a plurality of cells and the foldable section including a plurality of cells, each cell having a substantially diamond shape with four corners when the stent is in the expanded condition, each cell in the annulus section including two corners substantially aligned with one another in the longitudinal direction, each cell in the foldable section including two corners substantially aligned with one another in the longitudinal direction, each of the substantially aligned corners in the annulus section defining a larger angle than each of the substantially aligned corners in the foldable section in the expanded condition of the stent; and
a valve assembly attached to the foldable section of the stent, the valve assembly including a plurality of leaflets defining a flow direction through the valve assembly, the flow direction through the valve assembly in the unfolded condition of the stent being opposite to the direction of flow through the stent, and the flow direction through the valve assembly in the folded condition of the stent being the same as the direction of flow through the stent.
11 . A collapsible prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
a stent including a foldable section, an annulus section, and an aortic section arranged in series in a longitudinal direction, the stent being moveable between an unfolded condition in which the foldable section is spaced from the annulus section in the longitudinal direction, and a folded condition in which the foldable section at least partially overlaps with the annulus section; and
a valve assembly attached to the foldable section of the stent, the valve assembly being positioned within the annulus section in the folded condition of the stent.
12 . A collapsible prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
a stent including a foldable section, an annulus section and an aortic section arranged in series in a longitudinal direction, the stent being moveable between an unfolded condition in which the foldable section is spaced from the annulus section in the longitudinal direction, and a folded condition in which the foldable section at least partially overlaps with the annulus section; and
a valve assembly attached to the foldable section of the stent, the valve assembly including a plurality of leaflets defining a flow direction through the valve assembly relative to a stent direction from the annulus section of the stent to the aortic section of the stent, the flow direction through the valve assembly relative to the stent direction in the unfolded condition of the stent being opposite to the flow direction through the valve assembly relative to the stent direction in the folded condition of the stent.
13 . The collapsible prosthetic heart valve as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the foldable section in the folded condition is inverted relative to the unfolded condition.
14 . A collapsible prosthetic heart valve, comprising:
a stent including a foldable section, an annulus section and an aortic section arranged in series in a longitudinal direction, the stent being moveable between an unfolded condition in which the foldable section is spaced from the annulus section in the longitudinal direction, and a folded condition in which the foldable section at least partially overlaps with the annulus section; and
a valve assembly attached to the foldable section of the stent, the valve assembly in the folded condition having an inverted orientation relative to the orientation of the valve assembly in the unfolded condition.