Performance Of Bioprosthetic Heart Valves: Material Considerations

The first artificial heart valve replacement was performed in 1960ⁱ with a mechanical ball valve. The materials utilized were durable but carried a high risk of inducing systemic thromboemboli mostly due to turbulent flow and, at that time, invasive open-heart surgery was required to implant the device. While there have been many iterations since then, recent designs focus on a minimally invasive trans-catheter approach, miniaturizing the device and the delivery system so they can be delivered through the femoral artery and steered through the vasculature to the implant site. These bioprosthetic valves must tolerate crimping, expansion when needed, and are required to function flawlessly with the first heartbeat. 

Over the years, improved analytical methods have led to a better understanding of the failure modes associated with the current valves on the market. Bioprosthetic heart valves were developed to address some of these failure modes. These valves consist of cross-linked animal tissue assembled onto a supporting frame.