US Patent 11191642 Cardiac valve loading devices and systems

A loading device configured to radially collapse an expandable medical implant may include an operating handle having an opening therein extending along a longitudinal axis, a native sheath coupled to the operating handle and partially extending into the opening, such that the native sheath is configured to translate relative to the operating handle parallel to the longitudinal axis, a removable sheath removably coupled to the native sheath, an actuation rod extending parallel to the longitudinal axis at least partially through the opening, a lumen of the native sheath, and a lumen of the removable sheath, a distal end of the actuation rod being configured to be removably coupled to the expandable medical implant, and a first control element movable relative to the operating handle and coupled to the native sheath, the first control element being configured to translate the native sheath and the removable sheath relative to the operating handle.