Using highly detailed imaging from CT scans, mechanical engineers are using 3D printers to make an exact model of an individual patient’s heart valve. The models are created by a machine that is capable of multimaterial 3D printing. The researchers can adjust the design parameters — such as diameter and curving wavelength — of the metamaterial used for printing, which allows them to more closely mimic physiological properties of the tissue. They have also embedded sensors on the models using a machine that can print nanomaterial-enabled circuitry on the wall of the valve.
These one-of-a-kind models not only represent the size and proportion of the heart valve but can also mimic its physiological qualities — such as how it feels and responds to pressure. The tool could help cardiologists care for patients with heart valve disease. The 3-D printed heart valve models are particularly useful in planning a minimally invasive procedure called transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), during which heart doctors use a catheter to deliver a prosthetic heart valve to replace the patient’s impaired valve.