A Newly Developed Tri-Leaflet Polymeric Heart Valve Prosthesis.
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 testedin vitrounder 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.
Department of Chemistry Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta" Politecnico di Milano Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Francesco De
F
Gaetano
Department of Chemistry Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta" Politecnico di Milano Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Paola
P
Bagnoli
Department of Chemistry Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta" Politecnico di Milano Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy.
Adriano
A
Zaffora
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Politecnico di Milano Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy, anna.pandolfi@polimi.it.
Anna
A
Pandolfi
Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology University of Cambridge Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB23RA, UK.
Marta
M
Serrani
Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology University of Cambridge Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB23RA, UK.
Jacob
J
Brubert
Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology University of Cambridge Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB23RA, UK.
Joanna
J
Stasiak
Department of Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology University of Cambridge Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB23RA, UK.
Geoff D
GD
Moggridge
Department of Chemistry Materials and Chemical Engineering "Giulio Natta" Politecnico di Milano Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133 Milan, Italy marialaura.costantino@polimi.it.
Maria Laura
ML
Costantino
Heart valve prosthesis; finite element model; pulse duplicator; styrenic block copolymers