US Patent Issued to Medtronic on Dec. 30 for "Valve delivery device" (Minnesota Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 31 -- United States Patent no. 12,508,128, issued on Dec. 30, was assigned to Medtronic Inc. (Minneapolis).

"Valve delivery device" was invented by Cathleen A. Bergin (Minneapolis) and Timothy R. Ryan (Minneapolis).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Methods and apparatus for holding and maneuvering a valve during preparation and attachment to patient, providing increased visibility of the prosthetic valve and the sewing ring to prevent suture entanglement. A handle attachment is spaced from the valve for improved visibility of the sewing ring and the outlet end of the valve during attachment. Commissure posts are bent inward at the tips while preventing crashing of the commis...