The achievement marks the first time bioresorbable materials and 3D-printing technology have been combined to create a resorbable heart valve from shape-memory material, according to a Feb. 11 news release from the university.
The shape-memory material allows the valve to be folded and delivered into the heart through a catheter. After implantation, and once the valve reaches body temperature, it transforms into its original shape. The body will absorb the valve in a few months as its bioresorbable material signals the body to replace the valve with new tissue, the release said.
“In pediatrics, one of the biggest challenges is that kids grow, and their heart valves change size over time,” Scott Hollister, PhD, the Patsy and Alan Dorris chair in pediatric technology and associate chair for translational research at Georgia Tech, said in the release. “Because of this, children must undergo multiple surgeries to repair their valves as they grow. With this new technology, the patient can potentially grow new valve tissue and not have to worry about multiple valve replacements in the future.”