Breakthrough Heart Valve Combines Best of Mechanical and Tissue Replacement Technology

When a patient requires a new heart valve, the existing mechanical and tissue replacements each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Tissue valves generally perform better than mechanical ones due to their shape but typically last only 15 to 20 years, necessitating another replacement in the future. Mechanical valves can last a lifetime but do not perform as effectively as tissue valves and require patients to take daily anticoagulants. Now, a team of researchers believes they have found a way to combine the advantages of both technologies in a manner that could be transformative—and life-saving—for many individuals.

A research team at UBC Okanagan (Kelowna, Canada) has developed a heart valve that merges the best features of both tissue and mechanical technologies, potentially outperforming current valves. Their latest creation called the iValve, is their most advanced to date and integrates the optimal aspects of both mechanical and tissue valves for heart valve replacement. While mechanical heart valve replacements have been in use for a long time, a persistent challenge has been perfecting the technology for the smallest hearts—those of tiny infants. What makes the iValve particularly exciting is that it is specifically designed for high-heart-rate applications, such as in pediatric patients. The new iValve could also significantly improve the quality of life for patients who currently undergo regular anticoagulant therapy—blood thinners—which can increase the risk of severe bleeding, blood clots, or damage to tissues and organs if blood flow is impeded.

Image: Rendered isometric views of the iValve are shown in the A) closed and B) open positions (Photo courtesy of Journal of Biomechanics)

This valve is engineered to allow blood to flow to the aorta, the body's largest artery and the vessel that carries oxygen-rich blood from the heart throughout the body. The researchers' next goal is to apply their findings to develop a replacement for the mitral valve, which ensures that blood flows from the left atrium to the left ventricle and prevents it from flowing backward between these two chambers. Their research has been published in the Journal of Biomechanics. Now that their prototype is performing well in mechanical laboratory tests, the researchers plan to advance to animal and clinical trials. If all goes as planned, they hope the iValve could be ready for these trials within two years.

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UBC Okanagan