Development of a new generation of artificial heart valve

The project goal is minimizing life-threatening thrombo-emboli formation in pulsatile heart assist devices by a new biomimetic heart valve design based on metal-polymer composites. Heart prostheses support patients with late-stage heart diseases towards recovery or as a bridge to transplantation. In future, they will assist gene therapy to treat myocardial infarction. Besides of deficient blood flow (stagnant zones), state-of-the-art systems with mechanical valves generate platelet activating shear due to a narrow disc-ring gap. The novel composite and valve design solve these pressing medical needs: Injection moulding of polyurethane with a fragile titanium mesh insert combines biologically optimal micro-scale flexibility with macro-stiffness for mechanical function. Added transnational value is joining knowhow in: (1) heart valve design for optimal blood flow,(2) haemo-biofunctional coatings,(3) insert injection moulding, and(4) testing, finally on the artificial patient model.

Autorentext
Major, Roman
Prof. Roman Major is head of the Bioengineering lab at IMIM. He is fully involved in the blood material interaction analysis using Confocal Microscopy technique. Malgorzata Gonsior, PhD, is an expert in biomaterial and medical device biocompatibility evaluation, preclinical and clinical trials of new medical device prototypes and project management