Our Mission

Mission Statement

With a majority of heart valve replacement surgeries requiring reintervention in the lifetime of the patient, there is a need for a prosthetic valve designed with reintervention in mind. Structural degradation of the prosthetic valve can be corrected through surgical replacement or valve-in-valve TAVR procedures. While valve-in-valve procedures involve less bleeding and lower short term mortality rates, there is a much higher chance for prosthesis-patient mismatch (PPM). PPM is when the effective area of the valve is small in relation to the patient's arteries. It is associated with quicker prosthetic degeneration, more cardiac events, and lower KCCQ scores suggesting a worse perceived quality of health by the patient. The objective of this project is to design a heart valve prosthesis that can be used to treat heart valve malfunctions through minimally invasive or surgical procedures at multiple positions, posesses size expandability to accomodate valve-in-valve reintervention, and has enhanced biocompatibility.

Patient Needs

In recent years there has been an increase in the need for heart valve replacements with a projected 240,000 valve replacement surgeries in the US alone in 2026. The trend is corroborated by University Hospitals Leuven data in figure 1 below showing the growth of the marketplace, and dominance of the bioprosthetic valve over more traditional mechanical valves in recent years.

Of these patients, children are especially vulnerable to developing PPM. One subgroup analysis of patients showed that survival rates declined with increasing patient age. Not only are children most likely to survive long enough to need reintervention, but it is often the case that their original prosthetic valve is small and restrictive to the sizing of a ViV replacement. These factors contribute toward the risk of PPM and demonstrate the clinical need for a heart valve prosthetic that can be expanded after implantation.