ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,440,328, issued on Oct. 14, was assigned to EDWARDS LIFESCIENCES Corp. (Irvine, Calif.).
"Modified prosthetic heart valve stent" was invented by Rafael Pintor (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Sai Prasad Uppalapati (Plano, Texas).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A prosthetic heart valve having an expandable stent modified to reduce the impact on the adjacent conduction system of the heart. A plurality of flexible leaflets arranged to close together along a flow axis through the valve prevent blood flow in one direction, and a support frame surrounds and supports the leaflets. The stent is defined by a plurality of connected struts arranged around...