Prosthetic Aortic Valve

Aortic valve stenosis is a type of heart disease that narrows the opening of the aortic heart valve. Calcification of the heart valve prevents adequate blood flow, especially at times of physical exertion. In young children with this condition, a balloon valvuloplasty is performed in order to stretch out the aortic valve opening. This technique is not as successful in adults, however. In high risk patients, aortic valve replacement is necessary to remedy the situation. Many patients are unsuitable for open heart surgery, so an alternative method had to be created.

Companies, such as Edwards Lifesciences, have developed prosthetic aortic valves that can be implanted percutaneously. This method provides a much less-invasive technique for replacing inadequate aortic valves. In a technique similar to implanting a stent in an artery to compress blockages, the prosthetic valve is inserted inside a metal stent on a catheter. Just as in valve stenting, a balloon is inflated to compress the damaged aortic valve, while leaving the mesh stent and prosthetic valve in place.

I found this article interesting because it is a technique that we have learned a lot about through research in our device design group. It was interesting to see a different application of a medical technique in use today. The thought of artificial heart valves is very interesting, and it's exciting to think about the possibility of a viable artificial heart in the future.

Source: http://www.ccjm.org/content/75/11/805.full

Supplement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UJK1HUxvuw