Valve component, frame component and prosthetic valve device including the same for implantation in a body lumen

1. A frame configured to accept a valve component of a prosthetic valve device, the frame comprising:

a tubular body comprising a top end, a bottom end, an axis extending between the top and bottom ends, and a length measured between the top and bottom ends, the tubular body comprising;

a plurality of axial posts positioned in a circumferentially spaced apart arrangement, wherein at least one of the axial posts extends the length of the tubular body; and

a lattice structure extending between adjacent ones of the axial posts, the lattice structure comprising a plurality of struts and a plurality of open cells, wherein the lattice structures and the axial posts are integrally formed as a unitary structure free of seams; and

wherein the struts of the lattice structure do not extend axially beyond proximal and distal ends of the axial posts.

2. The frame according to claim 1 , further comprising three of the axial posts positioned in an equi-spaced circumferentially spaced apart arrangement.

3. The frame according to claim 1 , wherein the tubular body of the frame is formed from a tube of shape memory metal.

4. The frame according to claim 3 , wherein the tube of shape memory metal comprises a pattern formed entirely of linear slits that extend substantially parallel to the axis.

5. The frame according to claim 4 , wherein the pattern further comprises a plurality of post pattern sections arranged on the tube in a circumferentially spaced-apart manner and a plurality of lattice pattern sections extending between the post pattern sections.

6. The frame according to claim 5 , wherein the linear slits of the pattern are arranged in axial columns.

7. The frame according to claim 6 , wherein the adjacent slits in the same axial column of the lattice pattern sections are separated by gaps of a first axial distance, and wherein adjacent slits in the same axial column of the post pattern sections are separated by gaps of a second axial distance that is greater than the first axial distance.

8. The frame according to claim 7 , wherein the gaps of the lattice pattern sections form nodes within the lattice structure and wherein the gaps of the post pattern sections form axially elongated nodes within the axial posts.

9. The frame according to claim 1 wherein the axial posts comprise axial nodes and diamond-shaped openings, and wherein the axial nodes are axially spaced apart by the diamond-shaped openings.

10. The frame according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of struts of the lattice structure define the plurality of open cells, each of the plurality of open cells having a diamond shape or a partial diamond shape.

11. The frame according to claim 10 wherein each of the open cells having a partial diamond shape extends from an opening in one of the top and bottom ends of the tubular body to a node formed at an intersection of a plurality of the struts.

12. The frame according to claim 11 wherein each of the open cells that does not extend to an opening in one of the top or bottom ends of the tubular body is diamond shaped.

13. The frame according to claim 10 wherein the plurality of struts includes one or more sets of interconnected struts extending continuously and diagonally from the top end of the tubular body to the bottom end of the tubular body.

14. The frame according to claim 1 wherein the plurality of struts define the plurality of open cells and intersect at nodes, the nodes being arranged in a plurality of node rows that extend circumferentially around the tubular body such that each node within any one of the plurality of node rows lies in a transverse plane, the plurality of struts being arranged in a plurality of strut rows that extend circumferentially around the tubular body, the plurality of strut rows being located between adjacent ones of the transverse planes.

15. The frame according to claim 14 wherein the struts within each of the strut rows are oriented so as to form a sawtooth configuration forming a plurality of V-shapes, and wherein the V-shapes in each adjacent strut row are a mirror image of one another with reference to the transverse plane between the adjacent strut rows.

16. The frame according to claim 1 wherein the lattice structure comprises a plurality of struts each of which is oriented oblique to the axis, and wherein the lattice structure is free of any axially oriented frame elements.

17. The frame according to claim 1 wherein the tubular body of the frame is formed from a cylindrical tube having a planar top end and a planar bottom end, and wherein the planar top and bottom ends of the cylindrical tube are free of any recesses.

18. A frame configured to accept a valve component of a prosthetic valve device, the frame comprising:

a tubular body comprising a top end plane, a bottom end plane, an axis extending between the top and bottom end planes, and a length measured between the top and bottom end planes, the tubular body comprising;

a plurality of axial posts positioned in a circumferentially spaced apart arrangement, each of the axial posts having a top end that lies in the top end plane and a bottom end that lies in the bottom end plane;

a lattice structure extending between adjacent ones of the axial posts, the lattice structure comprising a plurality of struts and a plurality of open cells, the lattice structure comprising a plurality of circumferential rows of the struts including a top row, a bottom row, and at least one middle row located between the top and bottom rows; and

wherein the struts in the bottom row terminate in bottom ends that lie in the bottom end plane and wherein the struts in the top row terminate in top ends that lie in the top end plane.

19. The frame according to claim 18 wherein the struts of the lattice structure do not extend axially beyond the top and bottom ends of the axial posts.

20. The frame according to claim 18 wherein the lattice structures and the axial posts are integrally formed as a unitary structure free of seams.