ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,245,938, issued on March 11, was assigned to EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES Corp. (Irvine, Calif.).
"Percutaneous implant retrieval methods" was invented by Joseph Arthur Passman (Costa Mesa, Calif.) and Omar Fawzi Azanki (Coto de Caza, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Devices and methods for retrieving percutaneously implanted catheter systems such as a heart valve repair system. The devices include at least one locking connector at the distal end of a flexible elongated extension for coupling to an implanted tubular member. The locking connector may be a tubular anchor having a pair of distal prongs which are biased outward and face in a p...