Active annuloplasty system for mitral valve insufficiency

Abstract

Active materials are capable of responding in a controlled way to different external physical or chemical stimuli by changing some of their properties. These materials can be used to design and develop sensors, actuators and multifunctional systems with a large number of applications for developing medical devices. Shape-memory polymers are active materials with thermo-mechanical coupling (changes in temperature induce shape changes) and a capacity to recover from high levels of distortion, (much greater than that shown by shape-memory alloys), which combined with a lower density and cost has favoured the appearance of numerous applications. In many cases, these materials are of medical standard, which increases the chances of ultimately obtaining biocompatible devices. This paper presents the procedure for designing, manufacturing, and programming the "shape-memory" effect and in vitro trials for an active annuloplasty ring for the treatment of mitral valve insufficiency, developed by using shape-memory polymers. © 2008 Springer-Verlag.