ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 29 -- United States Patent no. 12,208,004, issued on Jan. 28, was assigned to EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES Corp. (Irvine, Calif.).
"Implant delivery capsule" was invented by Darshin S. Patel (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A delivery system for delivering a stent-mounted heart valve, or other implant, through an introducer sheath. The delivery system includes an elongate catheter supporting a capsule. The capsule contains the stent-mounted heart valve in the crimped condition. The capsule includes a protrusion extending from its outer surface for urging the sheath away from the outer surface capsule as it moves therethrough, thereby reducing an averag...