Implantable adjustable fluid flow control valve
US5637083A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 19, 1996 |
| Grant date | Jun 10, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 19, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61M27/006
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A subcutaneously implantable and percutaneously adjustable fluid flow control device includes a magnetically adjustable valve for controlling fluid flow from an inlet to an outlet. The valve includes a housing having a fluid passageway therethrough, a valve element designed to bear upon a valve seat to close the passageway to fluid flow, and a spring which biases the valve element against the valve seat so as to keep the passageway closed until a fluid pressure differential between the inlet and the outlet exceeds a selected valve opening pressure. A fixed dual concentric stair-step array and an overlying rotor assembly permit the amount of bias applied to the valve element by the spring to be adjusted. The rotor assembly is adapted to rotate in response to an external or percutaneously-applied magnetic field. In one embodiment, the rotor assembly may be locked into one of several possible rotational positions relative to the stair-step array to prevent rotation thereof.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.