Ex Parte Nguyen-Thien-Nhon et al - Page 2




              Appeal No. 2005-0957                                                                                     
              Application No. 09/745,386                                                                               
                                                  THE INVENTION                                                        
                     The appellants’ invention relates to an improved holder for implanting a tissue-                  
              type prosthetic mitral heart valve that helps prevent suture looping during the valve                    
              implantation procedure.  The holder includes two relatively movable plate-like portions                  
              (40, 44), one of which attaches to a sewing ring on the inflow end of the valve.  The                    
              other plate-like portion attaches via flexible lengths of material (e.g., sutures) to                    
              circumferentially spaced valve commissure posts (26) located at the outflow end of the                   
              valve.  Separation of the plate-like portions places the flexible lengths of material (60) in            
              tension and radially constricts the flexible commissure posts for facilitating implanting                
              the valve outflow end first.  The flexible lengths of material (60) extend between the                   
              valve commissure posts and each flexible length of material crosses over the adjacent                    
              flexible length of material just radially inward from the commissure post tips to create a               
              barrier to suture looping which guides loose sutures over each post tip (62).                            


                     Representative claim 1 reads as follows:                                                          
                     A holder for a tissue-type prosthetic heart valve attachable to a surgical delivery               
              handle, the heart valve having an inflow end and an outflow end and a flow axis                          
              therebetween, the valve including an annular suture ring at the inflow end and a plurality               
              of generally axially extending commissure posts circumferentially-spaced around the                      
              outflow end that support occluding tissue surfaces of the valve, the holder comprising:                  
                     a plurality of lengths of flexible material extending in a taut fashion across the                
              outflow end of the valve to prevent suture looping, each length of material having a first               
              segment extending directly between adjacent commissure posts and crossing over (i.e.,                    
              intersecting) each adjacent length of material just radially inward from the commissure                  
              post therebetween.                                                                                       

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