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Fabrication And Characterization Of An Extracellular Matrix Hydrogel For Aortic Valve Applications, Brady Culbreth
Fabrication And Characterization Of An Extracellular Matrix Hydrogel For Aortic Valve Applications, Brady Culbreth
All Theses
With an estimated 5 million people suffering from valve disease in the United, valve disease is currently the leading cause of cardiovascular disease. Each year, between 80,000 and 85,000 aortic valve replacements are performed in order to treat the stenotic heart valves. Despite this being a worldwide epidemic, the current valve replacement options that are on the market have distinct limitations. Furthermore, a viable alternative does not exist for the patients that are not candidates for the current treatment methods. Our proposed solution to this epidemic is to create a highly viable injectable scaffold that would allow for the minimally …
Vena Cava As An Alternative To Pericardium In Bioprosthetic Percutaneous Heart Valves, Amy Munnelly
Vena Cava As An Alternative To Pericardium In Bioprosthetic Percutaneous Heart Valves, Amy Munnelly
All Theses
Valve disease is a specialized form of cardiovascular disease that specifically affects the heart valves. Heart valves serve the vital function of maintaining unidirectional blood flow through the chambers of the heart during the cardiac cycle; however, as valve disease progresses, this function can become severely compromised [1]. Currently, the only cure for valve disease is to replace the defective valve with an engineered substitute. Each year, over 300,000 heart valve replacement surgeries are performed worldwide [2], and this number is expected to continue growing as life expectancies increase [3].
In the United States, the most common form of valve …
A Pulsatile Bioreactor For Conditioning Tissue Engineered Heart Valves, Leslie Sierad
A Pulsatile Bioreactor For Conditioning Tissue Engineered Heart Valves, Leslie Sierad
All Theses
Tissue engineered constructs with autologous adult stem cells capable of self-repair and growth are highly desired replacements for diseased heart valves. However, the current approaches have inadequate mechanical properties to withstand in vivo implantation. Therefore, our group hypothesized that an in vitro environment of physiological intra-cardiac pressures and flow will stimulate stem cells to differentiate and remodel valvular scaffold constructs before implantation.
The group developed a pneumatic-driven conditioning system (Aim I) consisting of a three-chambered heart valve bioreactor, a pressurized compliance tank, a reservoir tank, one-way valves, pressure-retaining valves, and pressure transducers. The system can be sterilized using conventional autoclaving …