The potential of polyester fibrous leaflets for transcatheter heart valves

Statement of Purpose: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has become a popular alternative technique to surgical valve replacement for critical patients and is expected to be extended to less critical patients in a close future. However, with 10 years follow up, little is known about the long-term durability of the biological tissue currently used in the procedure. Moreover, the high cost of tissue harvesting and chemical treatment procedures favor the development of alternative synthetic valve leaflet materials. Textile polyester is one such material which provides outstanding folding and strength properties combined with proven biocompatibility, and could therefore be considered as a candidate to replace the biological valve leaflets in TAVR procedures.. Methods: Fabric valves were obtained from tubular woven polyester fibers (PET) membranes characterized by various textile constructions. The design of the valves was obtained with a heat based shaping process and from the geometry of the mold used to shape the cusps. The fabric valves were assembled with commercially available biological valve rings from which the biological tissue had been removed.