BROOMFIELD - The first heart-valve device manufactured by Colibri Heart Valve LLC has been implanted its first heart-valve device in a female patient in the Dominican Republic.

The recent surgery is part of a clinical study going on outside of the United States in which the company hopes to enroll 10 patients, Broomfield-based Colibri said in a press statement. The woman had extensive calcification of her body's aortic valve, Colibri said.

Because of the way it's designed, the patented heart valve has the potential to reduce pre-surgery time and cost, Joseph B. Horn, Colibri's president and chief executive, said in the press statement.

Colibri's patented transcatheter aortic heart valve can be implanted without full open-heart surgery, the company has said in the past. The company received the U.S. Patent and Trademark office patent for the device in February.

Colibri also received $5 million from private investors early in the year. The company also has a research and development facility in Houston.