Computer to help
An international team of researchers from the University of Zurich (Switzerland), the Technical University of Eindhoven (the Netherlands) and the Charite Clinic (Germany), within the framework of the LifeValve project, for the first time used a computer program to predict how laboratory-grown heart valves will change and function after implantation in animal models. This made it possible to optimize the structure and composition of the implants and develop an individual design taking into account the characteristics of the recipient organism.
Congenital and acquired heart defects are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Modern prostheses have clinical limitations due to their artificial nature and lack of ability to change after implantation. Children with congenital heart defects who have had a valve replacement are forced to undergo repeated operations due to the growth of the body and the need for a larger prosthesis. Prostheses of animal origin (from cows or pigs) they wear out over time and also require replacement.
Valves created with the help of tissue engineering are devoid of these disadvantages – they adapt to the changes taking place in the body, therefore they do not require replacement.
The main obstacle to the long-term operation of such a valve in vivo is its uncontrolled change after implantation. First of all, it is the shortening of the valve flaps, which often leads to insufficiency of the implant, regardless of the technology used to create it.
Simon P. Hoerstrup and his colleagues have developed a computer program for designing a valve taking into account possible remodeling after implantation into a living organism. The pulmonary artery valves grown according to these projects were implanted in sheep, and then their changes were monitored for one year.
Heart valves created with the help of tissue engineering using computer modeling have demonstrated good long-term results. Nine of the 11 implants continued to function. Computer modeling accurately predicted how the valve flaps would shorten in vivo during dynamic remodeling until equilibrium was reached, this was confirmed in the study.
The work not only proves the importance of computer modeling in tissue engineering, but also demonstrates the safety and effectiveness of the use of bioengineered implants. This is an important step towards the widespread use of tissue engineering technologies in cardiology. In addition, the results obtained create a basis for the introduction into clinical practice of other novelties of bioengineering.
Article by M. Y. Emmert et al. Computational modeling guides tissue-engineered heart valve design for long-term in vivo performance in a translational sheep model is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Aminat Adzhieva, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of the University of Zurich: Computer-Designed Customized Regenerative Heart Valves.