Patents by Inventor Joseph Craver

Joseph Craver has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • One handed instrument for spreading a heart valve
    Patent number: 6136017
    Abstract: An instrument for spreading the anterior leaflet of a mitral valve. The surgical instrument is designed to allow a surgeon to grip an instrument with one hand during sizing of the anterior leaflet prior to implantation of an annuloplasty ring in a heart valve. The instrument includes a pair of tines that each have an engagement tip for engaging the chordae tendinae proximate an anterior leaflet of a heart valve. The tines are coupled together by a gripping mechanism that may be easily held in one hand, while an annuloplasty ring sizer is held in the surgeon's other hand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 24, 2000
    Assignee: Sulzer Carbomedics Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph Craver, Louis A. Campbell