Every year, more than 5 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with heart valve disease, a condition without an effective long-term treatment. When a person’s heart valve is severely damaged by a birth defect, lifestyle, or aging, blood flow is disrupted. If left untreated, there can be fatal complications.

Valve replacement and repair are the only methods of managing severe valvular heart disease. But replacement valves are made of animal tissue and often require repeated surgeries that are expensive, disruptive, and life-threatening. For pediatric patients, solutions are limited.

Now, researchers from the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering have created a 3D-printed heart valve made of bioresorbable materials and designed to fit an individual patient’s unique anatomy. Once implanted, the valves will be absorbed by the body and replaced by new tissue that will perform the function that the device once served.

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