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A Newly Developed Tri-Leaflet Polymeric Heart Valve Prosthesis.


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Authors

Gaetano, Francesco De 
Bagnoli, Paola 
Zaffora, Adriano 
Pandolfi, Anna 
Serrani, Marta 

Abstract

The potential of polymeric heart valves (PHV) prostheses is to combine the hemodynamic performances of biological valves with the durability of mechanical valves. The aim of this work is to design and develop a new tri-leaflet prosthetic heart valve (HV) made from styrenic block copolymers. A computational finite element model was implemented to optimize the thickness of the leaflets, to improve PHV mechanical and hydrodynamic performances. Based on the model outcomes, 8 prototypes of the designed valve were produced and tested in vitro under continuous and pulsatile flow conditions, as prescribed by ISO 5840 Standard. A specially designed pulse duplicator allowed testing the PHVs at different flow rates and frequency conditions. All the PHVs met the requirements specified in ISO 5840 Standard in terms of both regurgitation and effective orifice area (EOA), demonstrating their potential as HV prostheses.

Description

Keywords

Heart valve prosthesis, finite element model, pulse duplicator, styrenic block copolymers

Journal Title

J Mech Med Biol

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0219-5194
1793-6810

Volume Title

15

Publisher

World Scientific Pub Co Pte Lt
Sponsorship
British Heart Foundation (SP/15/5/31548)
British Heart Foundation (None)
This work was funded by the British Heart Foundation (New Horizons NH/11/4/29059).