Novel polymeric heart valve for global heart valve disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of global deaths and a major contributor to disability. Whilst in developed countries, cardiac valve disease is an ageing problem, rheumatic heart disease remains the most prevalent cause elsewhere. This includes aortic valve stenosis, affecting 9 million people worldwide and mitral regurgitation, affecting 24 million people worldwide. Valve replacement with a prosthesis remains the most effective treatment against aortic stenosis, presenting a lifesaving procedure. However, existing prosthetic heart valves have limitations which impact their use in low- and middle-income countries, such as the need for costly lifelong anti-coagulant therapy. The Wheatley Heart Valve (WHV) is a novel patented synthetic heart valve designed to overcome the limitations of existing heart valves by facilitating helical flow as blood exists the aorta. This generates a sinus washout of blood as the valve closes, alleviating the risks from thrombosis. This research sets out to validate and optimise the design of this technology through development of a bespoke test system in accordance with standards ISO 5840 parts 1 and 2. Early computational fluid models including a steady state analysis validating our current system, confirmed the unique curvature of the WHV facilitates helical blood flow downstream of the valve. Work is ongoing to optimise our in-vitro system to include a full aortic model (including coronary arteries and arch) to visualise this spiral flow and sinus washout phenomenon beyond the aortic root. This work will advance the WHV closer towards clinical translation.