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Testing to Improve the Durability of Artificial Heart Valves

From Bose Corporation - ElectroForce Systems Group
 

 
Heart valve prostheses have been used successfully in heart procedures since 1960 resulting in an overall improvement in the quality of life of the patients. Currently, there are two kinds of valves used: mechanical and bioprosthetic. Generally, mechanical valves are more durable than bioprosthetic valves. However, they sometimes involve side effects with irregular blood flow and clotting of blood around them. Bioprosthetic valves have better hemodynamic (blood flow) properties, but are more susceptible to wear as a result of material fatigue. Polymer trileaflet (PT) valves offer natural hemodynamics with the potential for better durability. PT heart valves usually fail in long-term use with tearing and calcification of the leaflets due to high dynamic tensile and bending stresses borne by the material and the oxidative reactions with blood. It was postulated that synthetic valve leaflets that mimic natural valve leaflet structure fabricated from fiber-reinforced composite material will minimize leaflet stresses and decrease tears and perforations.
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Topics of Interest
Implantation of prosthetic cardiac valves to treat heart valve disease is a common procedure. Since 1950, more than 80 models of artificial valves have been introduced. Prosthetic valves are either... (Read More)
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Orlando Pelliccioni Miguel Cerrolaza, Bioengineering Center (CeBio UCV), Central University of Venezuela, 50.381 Caracas, Venezuela E-mail: orlandoCEBIO@cantv.net Mauro Herrera, Vargas... (Read More)
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