EFFECT OF VALVE OVERSIZING ON LEAFLET BENDING STRESS IN THE COREVALVE: AN IN VITRO STUDY

66th Annual Scientific Session and Expo of the American-College-of-Cardiology (ACC), Washington, DC, MAR 17-19, 2017International audienceno abstrac

In vitro study of valve-in-valve performance with the CoreValve self-expandable prosthesis implanted in different positions and sizes within the Trifecta surgical heart valve

International audienceno abstrac

Mouse oocyte vitrification: the effects of two methods on maturing germinal vesicle breakdown oocytes

Purpose Evaluation of viability and subsequent developmental ability of mouse germinal vesicle breakdown oocytes vitrified in conventional straws. Methods Oocytes with compact cumulus cells were cultured for 3 h in TCM199 medium GVBD and vitrified by two methods: the step-wise and single-step. After vitrification, the oocytes were thawed, and subjected to in vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization. Oocyte survival (postthaw) was assessed by morphological appearance and staining, using propidium iodide (PI)/Hoechst 33342. The oocyte maturation and fertilization rates were examined in vitro. Results In the single-step method the rates of post thaw survival, maturation to metaphase II and cleavage (2-cell embryos) were 58.68%, 56.41% and 38.63%, respectively. In the step-wise method, the corresponding rates were 81.75%, 68.59% and 51.80%, respectively. Conclusion Vitrification of mouse germinal vesicle breakdown oocytes by the step-wise method had the advantag

On the Mechanics of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

Transcatheter aortic valves (TAVs) represent the latest advances in prosthetic heart valve technology. TAVs are truly transformational as they bring the benefit of heart valve replacement to patients that would otherwise not be operated on. Nevertheless, like any new device technology, the high expectations are dampened with growing concerns arising from frequent complications that develop in patients, indicating that the technology is far from being mature. Some of the most common complications that plague current TAV devices include malpositioning, crimp-induced leaflet damage, paravalvular leak, thrombosis, conduction abnormalities and prosthesis-patient mismatch. In this article, we provide an in-depth review of the current state-of-the-art pertaining the mechanics of TAVs while highlighting various studies guiding clinicians, regulatory agencies, and next-generation device designers