Synthetic Fiber Heart Valve Is Built To Grow With Your Body

A condition known as Valvular Heart Disease prevents the heart from distributing blood flow efficiently, either because the blood is leaking back into the chamber or is being pushed out against a narrow opening. This could lead to heart failure, stroke, or arrhythmia.
 
Harvard University’s Wyss Institute and the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have figured out how to create an artificial heart valve using a FibraValve technique in minutes.
 
In a study published on Matter, FibraValve uses focused rotary jet spinning (FRJS) to add streams of air as a mandrel picks up synthetic fibers. The team was able to hone in on precisely creating the valve’s shape. In total, it would only take less than 10 minutes to complete the new organic implant.
 
The fibers used are a custom blend of polycaprolactone and polylactic acid known as PLCL. It can sit inside a person’s body for around six months, during which time the man-made valve can act as scaffolding for cells in the area to naturally regrow.

Ultimately, it removes the need for risky surgeries to swap out valves as a body develops. This could aid children with the disease, and the implant can grow alongside them.
 
“Our goal is for the patient’s native cells to use the device as a blueprint to regenerate their own living valve tissue,” co-author Kevin “Kit” Parker said in a press release.
 
Tests are currently being held on living sheep, and the study showed that the implant could function immediately, having its “leaflets” open and close to allow blood to flow correctly. Red and white blood cells had even begun cultivating on the valve within the first hour, and side effects like thrombosis were not observed.
 
The medical field might still be a ways off from introducing such a solution as the team continues to experiment more over the coming months.
 
 

[via Engadget and Interesting Engineering, images via Wyss Institute at Harvard University]