| 摘要 |
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved support frame for a prosthetic heart valve. The support frame can include a plurality of diamond-shaped cells arranged in a plurality of circumferential rows. Three cells corresponding to the leaflet commissures can be configured as commissure tip cells, with elongated rounded portions rather than a diamond shape. The commissure tip cells can allow for insertion of leaflet tabs, thereby allowing the leaflets to be sutured outside of the valve. In this manner, the leaflet sutures can be removed from areas of high stress during physiologic loading. Thus, currently disclosed embodiments of a support frame can allow for use of thinner leaflet materials than possible with conventional prosthetic heart valves, without sacrificing valve durability in some embodiments.
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