Tissue-Engineered Heart Valves

Abstract

A tissue engineered heart valve (TEHV) could serve as a living, implantable valve replacement that would grow and adapt with the patient. A TEHV consists of relevant cells seeded on or entrapped in a scaffold material which is designed to degrade as the cells produce their own extracellular matrix components. Because the valve consists of living tissue, it can grow and remodel as a patient ages, making it an especially attractive replacement option for pediatric and young adult patients. To date, using various cell sources, scaffold materials, and/or in vitro culture protocols, several laboratories have produced TEHVs with the appropriate geometry and near-native mechanical properties. TEHVs implanted in the pulmonary position in sheep in our laboratory have shown promising short-term functionality but fail to maintain good performance after several months in vivo. Upcoming TEHV research will focus on optimization of TEHV components and in vitro culture conditions in order to improve long-term function post-implant, with the hope of performing human implants in the future.

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Particle Image Velocimetry; Heart Valve; Scaffold Material; Ovine Model; Mechanical Conditioning

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)

978-146146144-9; 978-146146143-2

Document Type

Book - Chapter

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2013 Springer US, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2013

Link to Full Text

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