Abstract: Systems for delivering a bifurcated stent to a bifurcation site comprise catheters and/or bifurcated stents delivered therefrom.

Abstract: Expandable heart valves for minimally invasive valve replacement surgeries are disclosed. The valves are rolled into a first, contracted configuration for minimally invasive delivery using a catheter, and then unrolled or unfurled at the implantation site. One- and two-piece stents may be used in conjunction with a plurality of flexible leaflet-forming membranes. The stents may include an annulus section, a sinus section with the membranes attached over sinus apertures, and an outflow section. Lockout tabs and making slots secure the stents in their expanded shapes. Alignment structure ensures concentric unfurling of the stent. Anchoring elements at the stent edges or in the stent body secure the valve within the annulus. A method of manufacture includes shape setting the sheet-like stent to ensure an outward bias during deployment. The stent may also include dear tracks for engagement with a gear mechanism for deployment.

Abstract: A system for delivering and deploying a self-expandable heart valve to a site of implantation such as the aortic annulus includes a deployment mechanism that engages the valve and regulates the rate of expansion of both the proximal and distal ends thereof. The heart valve may be a rolled-type valve and the deployment mechanism may include a plurality of distal fingers and a plurality of proximal fingers that engage the outer layer of the heart valve. Controlled radial movement of the fingers regulates the unwinding of the rolled heart valve. The fingers may be removed prior to inflation of a balloon to fully expand the valve, or the fingers may be repositioned to the inside of the valve for this purpose. The deployment mechanism may include an umbrella structure that forces the rolled valve outward into its fully expanded configuration. Alternatively, a gear shaft that engages one or more gear tracks on the valve may be utilized to regulate expansion of the valve.

Abstract: Storage containers for expandable heart valves for minimally invasive valve replacement surgeries are disclosed. The containers permit an expandable valve to be stored in its expanded configuration and then converted to its contracted configuration while still in the container. A mechanism incorporated into the container facilitates the conversion. For example, the container may have a base and a lid, and a crank manipulable from outside. The lid actuates a key within the container that engages the valve to perform the contraction. If the valve is a spirally wound type of expandable valve, the key may be attached to an inner side edge and rotated to wind the valve into a tight spiral. A drain in the container may facilitate removal of a preservative solution so that the valve can be seen during the contraction process, or so that the valve can be rinsed while still within the container.

Abstract: Systems for delivering a bifurcated stent to a bifurcation site comprise catheters and/or bifurcated stents delivered therefrom.

Abstract: A bifurcated stent comprises a first stent section and a second stent section. Each stent section is expandable from a predeployed state to a deployed state independently from one another. The second stent section having an end engaged to a receiving region of the first stent section. In the deployed state the first stent section defines a primary flow path and the second stent section defines a secondary flow path in fluid communication with the first flow path. At least a portion of one or both the first stent section and second stent section is constructed from a wire member.