An Overview of Materials Considerations for Prosthetic Cardiac Valves

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Abstract
Selection of prosthetic heart valves materials is an art and presents many problems. These implantable devices should be fabricated from carefully selected materials into products of consistent high quality, controlled dimensions, reliable in mechanical function, thromboresistant, wear resistant and durable in order to meet service requirements approaching 15 years. The evolution of a particular prosthesis model extending from its initial conceptual design up to its clinical use is presented. The steps in the development, testing and application of a typical prosthetic heart valve are discussed through a complete evaluation program. Pyrolytic carbon appears to be a promising material for such devices from the point of view durability and thromboresistance. This material is known for its combination of blood compatibility and high resistance to degradation, wear and fatigue. The fabrication of pyrolytic carbon, its physical characteristics, and its mechanical properties are presented and discussed. Manufacturing techniques for valves are explained, and some statistics on wear rate are presented. Also, all available heart valve prostheses utilizing pyrolytic carbon components are mentioned. Finally, an introduction to mechanical polymeric trileaflet man-made prostheses is also provided.

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