Chennai | Jagran News Desk: Dr Sanjay Cherian, a Chennai-based surgeon, has developed India's first 3D printed specialised biopolymer heart valve that can replace the current heart valves made with metal components (mechanical) or animal tissue (bioprosthetic). Cherian claimed that the 3D printed heart valve will revolutionise valve replacement surgeries and will considerably improve the chances of the body accepting the implant.
The product is being made under the "Made in India" programme and would bring down the cost of implants in India, Dr Cherian said. The cost of imported surgically implantable heart valves ranges between Rs 45,000 (mechanical) and Rs 65,000-80,000 for animal tissue valves. Presently, they are imported mainly from the US.
The 3D printed heart valves are very similar to human tissue and can be directly implanted in heart patients requiring valve replacement, according to Dr Sanjay Cherian.
"We are happy to announce we have designed and developed India's first 3D printed heart valve. We came up with four different prototypes and this is the fourth generation. It seems to be working well," Dr Cherian, who has been researching on this project for about a year, told PTI.
The innovation was undertaken in collaboration with the Centre for Automation and School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai.
"Valve surgeries are being performed for over half-a-century. In several cases the patients turn up after 5 or 10 years with the valve probably infected or torn off in the case of valves made with animal tissue," he said.
"We have been doing extensive research on the concept of 3D printing in the field of medicine," he added.
The 3D printing technology has been in use to plan the surgical approach, especially for complex procedures, in order to help cardiac surgeons and cardiologists to navigate and choose the best approach to treat heart diseases.
"This time, we focused our efforts on using 3D printers to manufacture heart valves using specialised biopolymers that are very similar to human tissue, which can be directly implanted in heart patients," he explained.
The process of patenting this 3D printed heart valve, and testing it to confirm its biocompatibility, efficacy, and durability is on, he added.
"We need to conduct a series of tests (in the laboratory) before trying it on animals like dog, pig or sheep models that have heart valves similar to humans. This would take some time before commencing human trials," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
Posted By: Subhasish Dutta
