the prosthetic valves of the embodiments disclosed herein are well - suited for cardiac delivery via a femoral or subclavian artery approach using a delivery catheter , and , depending upon the specific configuration selected , may be deployed within the heart to repair valve defects or disease or septal defects or disease . according to one embodiment , there is provided a chamber - to - vessel ( cv ) configuration which is particularly well - suited as an aortic valve prosthesis to facilitate blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta . in a second embodiment , there is provided a prosthetic valve in a chamber - to - chamber ( cc ) configuration which is particularly well - adapted for mitral valve replacement or repair of septal defects . finally , a third embodiment is provided in a vessel - to - vessel ( vv ) configuration , which is well suited for venous valve exclusion and replacement . common to each of the cv , cc and vv embodiments are a stent support member , a graft member which covers at least a portion of either or both the lumenal and ablumenal surfaces of the stent , valve flaps which are formed either by biological xenograft valves , synthetic valves formed from either the same material or a different material as the graft member , the valve flaps being coupled to the stent in a manner which biases the valve flaps so they close upon a zero pressure differential across the valve region . the embodiments disclosed herein provide orientational definitions . for purposes of the embodiments disclosed herein , references to positional aspects of the present invention will be defined relative to the directional flow vector of blood flow through the implantable device . thus , the term “ proximal ” is intended to mean on the inflow or upstream flow side of the device , while “ distal ” is intended to mean on the outflow or downstream flow side of the device . with respect to the catheter delivery system described herein , the term “ proximal ” is intended to mean toward the operator end of the catheter , while the term “ distal ” is intended to mean toward the terminal end or device - carrying end of the catheter . the embodiments disclosed herein comprises generally of three preferred embodiments , each embodiment corresponding to a prosthetic stent valve configuration adapted for either heart chamber to blood vessel communication , chamber to chamber communication or vessel to vessel , or intravascular configuration . certain elements are common to each of the preferred embodiments of the invention , specifically , each embodiment includes a stent body member which defines a central annular opening along the longitudinal axis of the stent body member , a graft member which covers at least a portion of the stent body member along either the lumenal or ablumenal surfaces of the stent body member , at least one biasing arm is provided and projects from the stent body member and into the central annular opening of the stent body member , and at least one valve flap member which is coupled to each biasing arm such that the biasing arm biases the valve flap member to occlude the central annular opening of the stent body member under conditions of a zero pressure differential across the prosthesis . the stent body member is preferably made of a shape memory material or superelastic material , such as nitinol , but also be fabricated from either plastically deformable materials or spring - elastic materials such as is well known in the art . additionally , the stent body member has three main operable sections , a proximal anchor section , a distal anchor section and an intermediate annular section which is intermediate the proximal and distal anchor sections . depending upon the specific inventive embodiment , the distal and proximal anchor sections may be either a diametrically enlarged section or may be a flanged section . the intermediate annular section defines a valve exclusion region and primary blood flow channel of the inventive valve stent . the intermediate annular section defines a lumenal opening through which blood flow is established . the transverse cross - section of the lumenal opening may be circular , elliptical , ovular , triangular or quadralinear , depending upon the specific application for which the valve stent is being employed . thus , for example , where a tricuspid valve is particularly stenosed , it may be preferable to employ a valve stent with a lumenal opening in the intermediate annular section which has a triangular transverse cross - sectional dimension . an implantable prosthesis or prosthetic valve in accordance with certain embodiments of the chamber - to - vessel cv configuration is illustrated generally in fig1 - 5 . the chamber - to - vessel valve stent 10 consists of an expandable stent body member 12 and graft member 11 . the stent body member 12 is preferably made from a shape memory and / or superelastic nitinol material , or thermomechanically similar materials , but may be made of plastically deformable or elastically compliant materials such as stainless steel , titanium or tantalum . the graft member 11 is preferably made of biologically - derived membranes or biocompatible synthetic materials such as dacron or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene . the stent body member 12 is configured to have three functional sections : a proximal anchor flange 22 , an intermediate annular section 20 and a distal anchor section 16 . the stent body member 12 , as with conventional stents is formed of a plurality of stent struts 13 which define interstices 14 between adjacent stent struts 13 . the stent body member preferably also includes a transitional section 18 which interconnects the intermediate annular section 20 and the distal anchor section 16 , which together define a valve exclusion region of the inventive stent valve 10 to exclude the anatomic valve after implantation . the proximal anchor flange 22 , the intermediate annular section 20 and the distal anchor section 16 are each formed during the formation of the stent body member and are formed from the same material as the stent body member and comprise stent struts 13 and intervening interstices 14 between adjacent pairs of stent struts 13 . the anchor flange 22 , for example , consists of a plurality of stent struts and a plurality of stent interstices , which project radially outwardly away from the central longitudinal axis of the stent body member . thus , the different sections of the stent body member 12 are defined by the positional orientation of the stent struts and interstices relative to the central longitudinal axis of the stent body member 12 . with reference to fig2 , there is shown in greater detail the valve body 26 and valve arms or flow regulator struts 24 coupled to the stent body member 12 . the valve body 26 subtends the central annular opening of the stent valve 10 and is illustrated in its closed position . in accordance with one embodiment , the graft member 11 consists of an outer or ablumenal graft member 11 a and an inner or lumenal graft member 11 b . the outer graft member 11 a encloses at least a portion of the ablumenal surface of the intermediate annular section 20 of the stent body member , while the inner graft member 11 b is coupled , on the lumenal surface of the intermediate annular section 20 of the stent body member 12 , to the outer graft member 11 a through the interstices 14 of the stent body member . the valve body 26 is formed by everting the inner graft member 11 b toward the central longitudinal axis of the stent body member 12 such that free ends or valve flap portions 28 of the inner graft member 11 b are oriented toward the distal anchor section 16 of the stent body member 12 and a pocket or envelope 27 is formed at the eversion point of the inner graft member 11 b adjacent the junction between the intermediate annular section 20 and the proximal anchor flange 22 of the stent body member 12 . alternatively , portions of the outer graft member 11 a may be passed through to the lumenal surface of the stent body member 12 , thereby becoming the inner graft member 11 b and everted to form the valve body 26 . valve arms or regulator struts 24 are coupled or formed integral with the stent body member 12 and are positioned adjacent the junction point between intermediate annular section 20 and the proximal anchor flange 22 of the stent body member 12 . the valve arms 24 are oriented radially inward toward the central longitudinal axis of the stent body member 12 when in their zero strain state . the valve arms 24 are attached or coupled to the valve flap portions 28 of the inner graft member leaflets to bias the valve flap portions 28 to the closed position when under zero pressure differential across the stent valve 10 . the zero strain position of the valve arms 24 is radially inward and orthogonal to the central longitudinal axis of the stent valve 10 . valve arms 24 have a length which is preferably longer than the radius of the lumenal diameter of the stent valve 10 , and they extent distally into the lumen of the stent valve 10 such that , in conjunction with the action of the valve leaflets 28 , the valve arms 24 are prevented from achieving their zero strain configuration thereby biasing the valve closed . as shown in fig4 , the valve arms 24 force the valve leaflets 28 to collapse into the center of the lumen of the stent valve 10 , thus biasing the valve to its closed position . it is preferable to couple sections of the valve flaps 28 , along a longitudinal seam 29 , to the inner graft member 11 b and the outer graft member 11 a at points equidistant from the valve arms 24 in order to impart a more cusp - like structure to the valve flaps 28 . it should be appreciated , that the graft member 11 should cover at least a portion of the ablumenal surface of the stent body member 12 in order to exclude the anatomic valves , but may also cover portions or all of the stent valve member 12 , including the distal anchor section 16 , the intermediate annular section 20 , the transition section 18 and / or the proximal anchor flange 22 , on either or both of the lumenal and ablumenal surfaces of the stent body member . in accordance with a particularly preferred embodiment of the cv valve stent 10 , the proximal anchor flange 22 , which consists of a plurality of stent struts and stent interstices which project radially outward away from the central longitudinal axis of the valve stent 10 , is configured to have one or more stent struts eliminated from the proximal anchor flange 22 to define an open region which is positioned in such a manner as to prevent the cv valve stent 10 from interfering with or impinging upon an adjacent anatomic structure . for example , where the cv valve stent 10 is to be an aortic valve prosthesis , it is known that the mitral valve is immediately adjacent the aortic valve , and the mitral valve flaps deflect toward the left ventricle . thus , placing the cv valve stent 10 such that the proximal anchor flange 22 is adjacent the mitral valve might , depending upon the particular patient anatomy , interfere with normal opening of the mitral valve flaps . by eliminating one or more of the stent struts in the proximal anchor flange 22 , an opening is created which permits the mitral valve flaps to deflect ventricularly without impinging upon the proximal anchor flange 22 of the cv valve stent 10 . similarly , the stent struts of the cv valve stent 10 may be oriented in such a manner as to create interstices of greater or smaller area between adjacent struts , to accommodate a particular patient anatomy . for example , where the stent struts in the distal anchor section 16 would overly an artery branching from the aorta , such as the coronary ostreum arteries , it may be desirable to either eliminate certain stent struts , or to configure certain stent struts to define a greater interstitial area to accommodate greater blood flow into the coronary ostreum . in the case of providing an oriented opening in the proximal anchor flange , or an oriented opening in the interstitial spaces of the distal anchor , it is desirable to provide radiopaque markers on the stent body member 12 to permit the cv valve stent to be oriented correctly relative to the anatomic structures . fig6 a and 6b illustrate the inventive cv stent valve 10 implanted in the position of the aortic valve and excluding the anatomic aortic valve av . fig6 a illustrates the heart during systole in which a positive pressure is applied to the prosthetic aortic valve by contraction of the left ventricle lv and the ejection fraction represented by the arrow . the systolic pressure overcomes the bias exerted by the valve arms 24 and causes the valve leaflets 26 to open and release the ejection fraction into the aorta . fig6 b illustrates that the presence of a negative pressure head across the stent valve 10 , i . e . such as that during diastole , causes the biased valve leaflets 26 which are already closed , to further close , and prevent regurgitation from the aorta into the left ventricle . fig7 - 11 illustrate the inventive stent valve in the chamber - to - chamber ( cc ) configuration 40 . the cc valve stent 40 is constructed in a manner which is virtually identical to that of the cv valve stent 10 described above , except that the distal anchor section 16 of the cv valve stent 10 is not present in the cc valve stent 40 , but is substituted by a distal anchor flange 42 in the cc stent valve . thus , like the cv valve stent 10 , described above , the cc valve stent 40 if formed of a stent body member 12 and a graft member 11 , with the graft member having lumenal 11 b and ablumenal 11 a portions which cover at least portions of the lumenal and ablumenal surfaces of the stent body member 12 , respectively . the cc valve stent 40 has both a proximal anchor flange 44 and a distal anchor flange 42 which are formed of sections of the stent body member 12 which project radially outward away from the central longitudinal axis of the cc valve stent 40 at opposing ends of the stent body member 12 . like the cv valve stent 10 , the lumenal graft portion 11 b is everted inwardly toward the central longitudinal axis of the valve stent 40 and free ends 28 of the lumenal graft portion 11 b to form valve flaps 26 which project distally toward distal anchor flange 42 . flow regulation struts 24 are coupled to or integral with the proximal anchor flange 44 and intermediate annular section 20 and project radially inward toward the central longitudinal axis of the cc valve stent 40 . the valve flaps 26 are coupled to the flow regulation struts 24 and the flow regulation struts 24 bias the valve flaps 26 to a closed position under a zero strain load . like with the cv stent valve 10 , it is preferable to couple sections of the valve flaps 28 , along a longitudinal seam 29 , to the inner graft member 11 b and the outer graft member 11 a at points equidistant from the valve arms 24 in order to impart a more cusp - like structure to the valve flaps 28 . turning to fig1 a and b there is illustrated the inventive cc stent valve 40 implanted in the position of the mitral valve and excluding the anatomic mitral valve mv . fig1 a illustrates the heart during atrial systole in which a positive pressure is applied to the prosthetic mitral valve by contraction of the left atrium la and the pressure exerted by the blood flow represented by the arrow . the atrial systolic pressure overcomes the bias exerted by the valve arms 24 onto the valve leaflets 26 , and causes the valve leaflets 26 to open and release the atrial ejection fraction into the left ventricle . fig1 b illustrates that the presence of a negative pressure head across the stent valve 40 , i . e . such as that during atrial diastole , causes the biased valve leaflets 26 which are already closed , to further close , and prevent backflow from the left ventricle into the left atrium . in accordance with another embodiment , the cc configuration may be adapted for use in repairing septal defects . by simply substituting a membrane for the valve leaflets 26 , the lumen of the stent body member 12 is occluded . the cc stent valve 40 may be delivered endoluminally and placed into a position to subtend a septal defect and deployed to occlude the septal defect . turning now to fig1 - 17 , there is illustrated the inventive stent valve in its vessel - to - vessel ( vv ) valve stent configuration 50 . the vv valve stent 50 is constructed in a manner which is virtually identical to that of the cv valve stent 10 described above , except that the proximal anchor flange 22 of the cv valve stent 10 is not present in the vv valve stent 50 , but is substituted by a proximal anchor section 52 in the vv stent valve . thus , like the cv valve stent 10 , described above , the vv valve stent 50 is formed of a stent body member 12 and a graft member 11 , with the graft member having lumenal 11 b and ablumenal 11 a portions which cover at least portions of the lumenal and ablumenal surfaces of the stent body member 12 , respectively . the vv valve stent 50 has both a proximal anchor section 52 and a distal anchor section 54 which are formed of sections of the stent body member 12 which are diametrically greater than the intermediate annular section 20 of the vv valve stent 50 . transition sections 56 and 58 taper outwardly away from the central longitudinal axis of the vv valve stent 50 and interconnect the intermediate annular section 20 to each of the distal anchor section 54 and the proximal anchor section 52 , respectively . like the cv valve stent 10 , in the vv valve stent 50 , the graft member 11 , particularly the lumenal graft portion 11 b or the ablumenal graft portion 11 a , or both , is everted inwardly toward the central longitudinal axis of the valve stent 40 and free ends 28 of the lumenal graft portion 11 b to form valve flaps 26 which project distally toward distal anchor flange 42 . flow regulation struts 24 are coupled to or integral with the stent body member at the proximal transition section 58 and project radially inward toward the central longitudinal axis of the vv valve stent 50 . the valve flaps 26 are coupled to the flow regulation struts 24 and the flow regulation struts 24 bias the valve flaps 26 to a closed position under a zero strain load . like with the cv stent valve 10 and the cc stent valve 40 , it is preferable to couple sections of the valve flaps 28 , along a longitudinal seam 29 , to the inner graft member 11 b and the outer graft member 11 a at points equidistant from the valve arms 24 in order to impart a more cusp - like structure to the valve flaps 28 . turning to fig1 a and b there is illustrated the inventive vv stent valve 50 implanted in the position of a venous valve and excluding the anatomic venous valve flaps ve . fig1 a illustrates the vein under systolic blood pressure in which a positive pressure is applied to the prosthetic venous valve and the pressure exerted by the blood flow represented by the arrow . the systolic pressure overcomes the bias exerted by the valve arms 24 onto the valve leaflets 26 , and causes the valve leaflets 26 to open and permit blood flow through the prosthesis . fig1 b illustrates that the presence of a negative pressure head across the vv stent valve 50 , i . e . such as which exists at physiological diastolic pressures , causes the biased valve leaflets 26 which are already closed , to further close , and prevent backflow from the left ventricle into the left atrium . the purpose of the proximal 54 and distal 52 anchor sections of the stent body member 12 is to anchor the prosthesis at the anatomic vessel - vessel junction , such as a venous valve , while causing minimal interference with adjacent tissue . the intermediate annular section 20 of the vv stent valve 50 excludes diseased anatomic leaflets and surrounding tissue from the flow field . the flare angle of the transition sections 56 , 58 between the intermediate annular section 20 and each of the proximal and distal anchor sections 54 , 52 , respectively , may be an acute angle , a right angle or an obtuse angle , depending upon the anatomical physiological requirements of the implantation site . alternatively , the transition sections 56 , 58 may be coplanar with the proximal and distal anchor section 52 , 54 , respectively , thereby , eliminating any transition flare angle , depending upon the anatomical and physiological requirements of the delivery site . in accordance with another embodiment , there is also a single catheter valvuloplasty and valve stent delivery system 200 illustrated in fig1 . the objective of the single catheter delivery system 200 is to permit the surgeon or interventionalist to percutaneously deliver and deploy the inventive valve stent 10 , 40 or 50 at the desired anatomical site and to perform valvuloplasty with a single catheter . in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the single catheter delivery system 200 , there is provided a catheter body 210 having dual lumens 212 , 216 . a first lumen 212 is provided as a guidewire lumen and is defined by a guidewire shaft 222 which traverses the length of the catheter body 210 . a second lumen is an inflation lumen 216 for communicating an inflation fluid , such as saline , from an external source , through an inflation port 240 at the operator end of the catheter 210 , to an inflatable balloon 214 located at or near the distal end of the catheter body 210 . the inflation lumen 216 is defined by an annular space between the lumenal surface of the catheter body 210 and the ablumenal surface of the guidewire shaft 222 . a capture sheath 217 is provided at the distal end 215 of the catheter body 210 and is positioned adjacent and distal the balloon 214 . the capture sheath 217 defines an annular space about the guidewire lumen 212 and the capture sheath 217 into which the stent valve 10 , 40 or 50 is positioned and retained during delivery . an annular plug member 220 is within the inflation lumen 216 distal the balloon 214 and terminates the inflation lumen 216 in a fluid tight manner . annular plug member 220 has a central annular opening 221 through which the guidewire shaft 222 passes . the annular plug member 220 is coupled to the guidewire shaft 222 and is moveable axially along the central longitudinal axis of the catheter 200 by moving the guidewire shaft 222 . the annular plug member 220 also serves to abut the stent valve 10 , 40 and 50 when the stent valve 10 , 40 and 50 is positioned within the capture sheath 217 . the guidewire shaft 222 passes through the capture sheath 217 and terminates with an atraumatic tip 218 which facilitates endoluminal delivery without injuring the native tissue encountered during delivery . with this configuration , the stent valve is exposed by proximally withdrawing the catheter body 210 , while the guidewire shaft 222 is maintained in a fixed position , such that the annular plug member 220 retains the position of the stent valve as it is uncovered by capture sheath 217 as the capture sheath 217 is being proximally withdrawn with the catheter body 210 . in many cases the anatomic valve will be significantly stenosed , and the valve flaps of the anatomic valve will be significantly non - compliant . the stenosed valves may be incapable of complete closure permitting blood regurgitation across the anatomic valve . thus , it may be desirable to configure the inflatable balloon 214 to assume an inflation profile which is modeled to maximally engage and dilatate the anatomic valves . for example , a tricuspid valve , such as the aortic valve may stenose to an opening which has a generally triangular configuration . in order to maximally dilatate this triangular opening , it may be desirable to employ a balloon profile which assumes a triangular inflation profile . alternatively , it may be advantageous to configure the balloon such that it does not fully occlude the anatomic lumen when inflated , but permits a quantum of blood flow to pass around the balloon in its inflated state . this may be accomplished by providing channels or ridges on the ablumenal surface of the balloon . additionally , irregular inflation profiles of the balloon may facilitate continuous blood flow about the inflated balloon . furthermore , it may be desirable to configure the balloon to have an hour - glass inflation profile to prevent migration or slippage of the balloon in the anatomic valve during valvuloplasty . in accordance with one embodiment , it is preferable that the capture sheath 217 be made of a material which is sufficiently strong so as prevent the stent valve 10 , 40 , 50 from impinging upon and seating into the capture sheath 217 due to the expansive pressure exerted by the stent valve 10 , 40 , 50 against the capture sheath . alternatively , the capture sheath 217 may be lined with a lubricious material , such as polytetrafluoroethylene , which will prevent the capture sheath 217 from exerting drag or frictional forces against the stent valve during deployment of the stent valve . in accordance with another embodiment , it is also contemplated that the position of the balloon 214 and the capture sheath 217 may be reversed , such that the balloon 214 is distal the capture sheath 217 . in this configuration , the anatomic valve may be radially enlarged by dilatating the balloon 214 , then the catheter moved distally to position the capture sheath 217 at the anatomic valve and deployed in the manner described above . this would also allow for post - deployment balloon expansion of the deployed stent valve without the need to traverse the prosthetic valve in a retrograde fashion . alternatively , the catheter 200 may be provided without a balloon 214 in those cases where valvuloplasty is not required , e . g ., where a stenotic valve does not need to be opened such as with a regurgitating valve , and the catheter 200 is terminated at its distal end with only a capture sheath 217 , and deployment occurs as described above . turning now to fig2 a - 20i there is illustrated the sequence of steps in delivery of the stent valve , valvuloplasty of the aortic valve and deployment of the stent valve at the position of the aortic valve . the single catheter delivery system 501 having a distal balloon 502 and a capture sheath 503 covering the valve stent 10 ( not shown in fig2 a - b ), is delivered percutaneously either through a femoral or subclavian artery approach , and traverses the aorta and is passed through the aortic valve 510 such that the balloon 503 on the distal end of catheter 501 is adjacent the aortic valve 510 and the capture sheath 503 is within the left ventricle 504 . a valvuloplasty step 520 is performed by inflating balloon 503 to dilate the aortic valve and deform the aortic valve flaps against the aorta wall adjacent the aortic valve . after the valvuloplasty step 520 , delivery of the valve stent 505 is initiated by stabilizing the guidewire shaft ( not shown ) while the catheter body is withdrawn antegrade relative to the blood flow until the proximal anchor flange section of the valve stent 505 is exposed by the withdrawal of the capture sheath 503 . the distal anchor flange of the valve stent 505 is then positioned at the junction between the aortic valve and the left ventricle at step 540 , such that the distal anchor flange engages the ventricular surface of the aortic valve . the valve stent is fully deployed at step 550 by retrograde withdrawal of the catheter body 501 which continues to uncover the intermediate annular section of the valve stent and release the aortic valve stent 505 . at the aortic valve site 510 . in step 560 , the valve stent 505 is completely deployed from the catheter 501 and the capture sheath 503 . the distal anchor section of the valve stent 505 expands and contacts the lumenal wall of the aorta , immediately distal the aortic valve , thereby excluding the aortic valve flaps from the lumen of the prosthetic aortic valve stent 505 . in step 570 , the atraumatic tip and guidewire are retracted by retrograde movement of the guidewire shaft of the catheter , and the catheter 501 is withdrawn from the patient . fig2 h and 20i depict the implanted valve stent 505 during diastole and systole , respectively . during ventricular diastole 580 , the left ventricle expands to draw blood flow 506 from the left atrium into the left ventricle . a resultant negative pressure gradient is exerted across the valve stent 505 , and the valve arms and valve flaps 506 of the valve stent 505 are biased to the closed position to prevent a regurgitation flow 507 from passing through the valve stent 505 and into the left ventricle 504 . during ventricular systole 590 , the left ventricle contracts and exerts a positive pressure across the valve stent 505 , which overcomes the bias of the valve arms and valve flaps , which open 508 against the lumenal wall of the intermediate annular section of the valve stent and permit the ejection fraction 509 to be ejected from the left ventricle and into the aorta . the method for delivery of the cc valve stent 40 or the vv valve stent 50 is identical to that of the cv stent 10 depicted in fig2 a - 20i , except that the anatomical location where delivery and deployment of the valve stent occurs is , of course , different . thus , while the present invention , including the different embodiments of the valve stent , the delivery and deployment method and the single catheter valvuloplasty and delivery system , have been described with reference to their preferred embodiments , those of ordinary skill in the art will understand and appreciate that the present invention is limited in scope only by the claims appended hereto .
this invention relates to prosthetic cardiac and venous valves and a single catheter device and minimally invasive techniques for percutaneous and transluminal valvuloplasty and prosthetic valve implantation .