Researchers at Harvard University have developed a method to cheaply produce heart valves in minutes that, when implanted into sheep, were functional immediatelyScientists involved in the research describe their method as a “cotton candy machine with a hairdryer behind it”. The hairdryer in this case being the air jets used to direct a liquid polymer onto a valve-shaped frame.

Surgeons implanted the valves into two sheep and monitored their functionality over an hour. The valves immediately and effectively controlled the blood flow in these sheep. The scale and speed of this new method offers a vast improvement from currently available technologies, which usually take weeks or months to make. Looking to the future the team plan to test the valves’ performance over a longer duration and in more sheep before finally implanting in a human heart.

Journal Reference:
DOI: 10.1016/j.matt.2023.05.025

--

Subscribe ➤ [ Ссылка ]

Get more from New Scientist:
Official website: [ Ссылка ]
Facebook: [ Ссылка ]
Twitter: [ Ссылка ]
Instagram: [ Ссылка ]
LinkedIn: [ Ссылка ]

About New Scientist:
New Scientist was founded in 1956 for “all those interested in scientific discovery and its social consequences”. Today our website, videos, newsletters, app, podcast and print magazine cover the world’s most important, exciting and entertaining science news as well as asking the big-picture questions about life, the universe, and what it means to be human.

New Scientist
[ Ссылка ]

свернуть