Traditionally heart valve leaflets are made in several ways, either through hand-stitching animal heart valve leaflets to frames and then surgically implanting them into the patient. These traditional, porcine (pig) valves often require replacement after a designated number of fatigue cycles – between 10-15 years. The 3D printed Thermoplastic Polyurethane Heart Valve project aimed to improve the ease of producing artificial heart valves, improve the potential geometries that are possible to produce and improve fatigue life of the valve leaflets themselves.

I took over the production or 3D printing of the TPU sample sheets for the director of the project, Dr. David Prawel, and learned a great deal. The most notable things I learned about were the capability of the extrusion-based 3D printers on the market, the incredible material properties of Thermoplastic Polyurethane plastic, and how 3D printing (along with other additive manufacturing technology) may revolutionize personal health care.

The results of testing the samples sheets I 3D printed showed remarkable fatigue capability, coupled with the good bio-compatibility gave Dr. David Prawel the confidence to file a provisional patent naming me and several other project researchers as inventors on the patent.