Bileaflet heart valve with improved pivot

Claim 1

A heart valve prosthesis comprising an annular valve body having a central passageway extending therethrough, a pair of valve leaflets, means supporting said pair of leaflets for substantially pivotal movement on a pair of eccentric axes between a closed position blocking blood flow through said central passageway and an open position allowing blood flow therethrough, wherein the improvement comprises, said leaflets each including guides projecting in opposite directions along the pivotal axis, said guides having a rounded bottom end, said support means including pairs of generally triangular depressions at generally diametrically opposite locations, each of said depressions having a curved top edge and generally straight outer and inner edges which meet at a vertex, said leaflet guides being received in said depressions with said bottom ends at the vertex thereof, said vertex being formed with a radius of curvature matched to the radius of curvature of said bottom ends and providing pivot points for each bottom end, whereby said leaflets each move between an open position wherein said guides are located generally adjacent said outer edges and a closed position wherein said guides are located generally adjacent said inner edges.