Advanced Manufacturing for Cardiac Valves

心脏瓣膜置换术是一种挽救生命的外科手术，每年在英国和全球范围内帮助超过10，000人恢复生活质量。目前的置换技术包括机械瓣膜或使用生物组织瓣膜。机械心脏瓣膜非常耐用，但其有限的生物相容性需要使用终身抗凝剂和抗血小板治疗。这种疗法甚至使常规手术风险很高或根本不可能。此外，瓣膜疾病的全球负担大部分在发展中国家，那里的风湿热患病率仍然很高。在这种情况下，药物治疗往往是不可用的，这意味着生物心脏瓣膜是首选的替代品。然而，这些瓣膜的耐久性有限，这在代表发展中国家大多数病例的年轻患者中是特别重要的限制。因此，整个行业和医疗保健领域的重大研究工作都集中在合成心脏瓣膜的开发上，这种瓣膜联合收割机机械器械的寿命，同时保留了生物替代品的生物相容性。我们的团队一直在开发一种独特的有前途的合成心脏瓣膜，我们相信与目前的替代品相比，它将提供更好的性能。在这个学生项目中，将使用一系列制造方法和材料生产一系列阀门原型，包括通过我们与苏格兰国家制造研究所的合作伙伴关系提供的先进增材制造技术，其性能的关键方面使用体外和计算机模型。收集的数据将用于优化材料的选择，并设计用于生产最终原型的制造策略，最终原型将接受最终体外评估。这将有助于收集证据基础，作为已在进行的更广泛战略合作的一部分，从而加快在学生项目完成后的一段时间内完成临床前研究的进展。该项目将利用生物医学工程和先进制造领域的一系列学术专家，与临床专业知识相结合，这意味着学生将受益于真正的多学科培训体验。

Cardiac valve replacement is a life-saving surgical procedure that helps restore quality of life for over 10,000 people each year in the UK and many more worldwide. Current replacement technologies comprise either mechanical valves or the use of biological tissue valves. Mechanical heart valves are highly durable, but their limited biocompatibility necessitates the use of life-long anticoagulant and antiplatelet therapies. Such therapy makes even routine surgery either high risk or simply not possible. Moreover, much of the global burden of valve disease is found within the developing world, where rheumatic fever prevalence remains high. Within such settings, pharmacological therapies are often unavailable, meaning that biological heart valves are the preferred alternative. However, these valves suffer from limited durability, which is a particularly important limitation in younger patients that represent most cases in developing countries. Significant research efforts across industry and healthcare have therefore been focused on the development of synthetic heart valves, which combine the longevity of mechanical devices whilst preserving the biocompatibility achieved with biological alternatives. Our team have been developing a uniquely promising synthetic heart valve that we believe will provide enhanced performance compared to current alternatives. In this studentship project, a series of prototypes of the valve will be produced using a range of manufacturing methods and materials, including advanced additive manufacturing technologies available through our partnership with the National Manufacturing Institute of Scotland, with key aspects of performance characterised using in vitro and in silico models. The data gathered will be used to optimise the selection of materials and design a manufacturing strategy for production of a final prototype, which will be subject to final in vitro assessment. This will contribute to the evidence basis being gathered as part of a wider strategic collaboration already underway, thereby accelerating progress towards completion of a pre-clinical study in the period following completion of the studentship project. The project will draw on a range of academic experts across biomedical engineering and advanced manufacturing, allied to clinical expertise, meaning that the student will benefit from a truly multidisciplinary training experience.