Patients who are diagnosed with damage to one or more heart valves often have to undergo one or more surgeries to replace them. These new heart valves are made from animal tissue and have a lifespan of 10 to 15 years before they need to be replaced again. American researchers have created a 3D-printed heart valve from bioresorbable materials that promote tissue regeneration.
In fact, this invention means that the 3D-printed implant from bioresorbable materials ensures that the body's own heart valves are regenerated. This means that the patient will probably not need additional surgeries in the future.
Bioresorbable material
Although 3D-printed heart valves already exist and bioresorbable materials have been used for implants before, this is the first time that the two technologies have been combined into a single implant with a resorbable material that also has a so-called shape memory.
This shape memory allows the heart valve to be folded and inserted via a catheter instead of open-heart surgery. After the valve is implanted, it unfolds to its original shape. The material then signals the body to create new tissue to replace the implant. This is completely absorbed within a few months.
Pediatrics
This could be a very welcome solution, especially for young patients who are still growing. “One of the biggest challenges in pediatrics is that children grow and their heart valves change size over time. This means that children have to undergo multiple surgeries to repair their valves as they grow. With this new technology, the patient may be able to grow new heart valve tissue and not have to worry about multiple surgeries in the future,” said Professor Scott Hollister of the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Georgia Tech and Emory.
The researchers are currently testing the physical durability of the heart valve using both computer models and real-world studies. To do this, a heart simulation setup was created in a lab that mimics the physiological conditions of a real heart, including the pressure and flow conditions of an individual patient’s heart. Another machine is used to test the mechanical durability of the valve by subjecting it to millions of cardiac cycles in a short period of time.
Huge challenges
According to the researchers, creating a material that can perform the rigorous function of a heart valve while also encouraging new tissue to develop and take over is a huge challenge. The researchers hope their technology can revolutionize the treatment of heart valve patients and usher in a new era of more tissue-engineered devices.
“The hope is that we start with the pediatric patients who can benefit from this technology when no other treatment is available to them. Then, over time, we hope to show that there is no reason why all valves can’t be made this way,” the researchers said.
