Artificial valve for implantation

摘要

An artificial heart valve consists of two or more valve members (10, 20) stacked one upon the other in a housing (40) and having blood flow passages (13, 23) that can be aligned with each other in order to open the valve and allow blood flow through the valve and that can be disaligned to close the valve. The valve members are maintained in continuous rotation and the alignment and disalignment of the valve members is achieved by slowing down and reaccelerating one or more of the valve members using a drive (18, 28) appropriately controlled by a control unit (C).

主权项

1. A surgical method for implanting an artificial valve system in a patient's blood vessel, the surgical method comprising the step of placing at least one artificial valve system comprising:
at least a first and a second valve member each having at least one blood flow passage extending from a first surface of the respective valve member to a second surface located on an opposite side thereof, wherein at least one of the first and second valve members is arranged so as to be rotatably displaceable relative to the other of the first and second valve members such that the blood flow passages of the first and second valve members can be brought into at least partial alignment, at least one drive for continuously rotating the first valve member with a rotational speed and the second valve member with a rotational speed, and a displacing mechanism for the displacement of the first and second valve members relative to each other, the displacing mechanism being adapted to temporarily change the relative rotational speed of the first and second valve members so as to bring the blood flow passages of the first and second valve members into and out of at least partial alignment, and wherein the first and second valve members always rotate with the same rotational speed, unless when their relative position is to be changed to bring the blood flow passages into and out of alignment.