Abstract:

Children worldwide suffer from heart valve disease and often require open heart surgeries for valve replacements. Unfortunately, current heart valve replacements do not grow alongside the child, necessitating repeat high-risk surgeries throughout the pediatric patient’s life. This work introduces FibraValves, heart valve replacements fabricated in minutes that comprise of fibers produced by focused rotary jet spinning. FibraValves are manufactured using biodegradable polymer fibers that allow for the patient’s cells to attach and remodel the implanted scaffold, eventually building a native valve that can grow and live with the child throughout their life. These valves were tested in vitro and deployed in acute in vivo studies to evaluate their ability to maintain unidirectional blood flow in the heart. Together, these results suggest the potential translation of FibraValves as future cardiac implants, eliminating the need for repeated valve replacements in children.