ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,350,148, issued on July 8, was assigned to Medtronic Inc. (Minneapolis).
"Stented heart valve devices and methods for atrioventricular valve replacement" was invented by Thierry Mesana (Ottawa), Timothy G. Laske (Shoreview, Minn.), Alexander Hill (Blaine, Minn.), Timothy Ryan (Minnetrista, Minn.) and Allen Tower (North Lawrence, N.Y.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A compressible and expandable stent assembly for implantation in a body lumen such as a mitral valve, the stent assembly including at least one stent barrel that is shaped and sized so that it allows for normal operation of adjacent heart structures. One or more stent barrels ca...