Date of Award
8-2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Bioengineering
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Dan Simionescu
Committee Member
Dr. Aggie Simionescu
Committee Member
Dr. Lee Sierad
Abstract
Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of mortality in developed countries, with 607.74 million cases globally in 2020.1,2 Advances in medicine have changed the current demographic suffering from heart valve disease into an aging population suffering from degenerative heart valve disease, creating a growing population treated by surgical or transcatheter intervention.3-6 Current treatments of valvular heart disease are therefore directed toward valve replacements for the adult population, leaving a treatment gap for pediatric patients suffering from heart valve disease.7-10
Congenital heart defects are defined as structural abnormalities of the heart or intrathoracic great vessels and are the leading cause of perinatal and infant mortlity.11,12 Deformations affecting the pulmonary valve are of interest as 20% of total cardiac congenital malformations affect this valve, affecting an estimated 40,000 people.13,14 Current treatment options for defects involving the pulmonary valve are typically palliative and require open-heart surgeries every 2.6 years that are physiologically stressful for the surgical patient.15-17 Therefore, a clinical pulmonary valve replacement is needed for pediatric patients, which can expand as the patient grows.
The Expand ValveTM developed in this project provides a possible solution for pediatric patients suffering from congenital heart defects affecting the pulmonary valve. Previous research identified the ideal tissue scaffold for an expandable valve as a decellularized fetal bovine inferior vena cava. This project worked to validate the decellularization protocol previously established, develop the manufacturing of an expandable heart valve, and test the cell reendothelialization capability and ideal cell seeding density of the tissue scaffold.
We found that the current decellularization protocol removed all cellular components but could not remove all DNA fragments from the tissue scaffold entirely. Mechanical testing of the manufactured heart valve supported the function of the valve but indicated that the valve design could still be improved. The decellularized tissue scaffold was found to support cell adhesion and growth, and a cell seeding density between 100,000 and 200,000 cells per square centimeter was found to provide the best reendothelialization cell coverage.
Recommended Citation
Lautenschlager, Jacob M., "Expandable Tissue-Engineered Living Surgical Pulmonary Heart Valve for Pediatric Patients" (2024). All Theses. 4367.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_theses/4367