Fluid Dynamic Performance of New Polymeric Heart Valves Prototypes tested under Continuous and Pulsatile Flow Condition.

Two categories of valve prostheses are currently available: mechanical and biological valves. The former show longer duration performances, on the other hand they induce high pressure drops during operation. The latter have preferable fluid dynamic performances but do not display high durability. The potential of Polymeric Heart Valves (PHV) is to combine the haemodynamic properties of biological valves with the durability of mechanical valves. This work present a hydrodynamic evaluation of two groups of newly developed supra-annular tri-leaflet prosthetic heart valves made from styrenic block co-polymers. The two types of PHVs were tested under continuous and pulsatile flow conditions as prescribed by ISO 5840 Standard. A specially designed pulse duplicator allowed testing of the valve prototypes at different flow rate and frequency conditions.