A New Generation of Aortic Valve Prosthesis: Design, Manufacture and Hydrodynamic Assessment

Aortic valve replacement (AVR) is the second most common cardiac procedure after coronary artery bypass grafting, accounting for more than 200,000 transplantations annually worldwide [1]. Currently available mechanical and bioprosthetic heart valve replacements are not ideal as they are associated with relevant complications. The tri-leaflet polymeric heart valves (PHVs) have been widely investigated as possible alternative to these substitutes. However, the clinical application of PHVs has been limited by their suboptimal design and poor durability of available polymeric materials. This study presents a new concept of surgical aortic valve using a novel nanocomposite polymer.