Researchers in MME's Micro Nano-Scale Transport Lab are working to reduce the risk of dangerous blood clots for patients who receive heart transplants in a collaborative effort with a team from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. The research team found that a heart valve implant with a textured surface is less likely to lead to the formation of blood clots – or thrombosis.
Patients with heart valve transplants undergo lifelong therapy to avoid thrombosis because left untreated, it can cause strokes and heart attacks.
"The implantation of a prosthetic heart valve is a life-saving procedure, but due to some medical conditions in patients who receive the valves, they experience blood clotting, which can be very dangerous," said Dr. Sushanta Mitra, a professor in Waterloo's Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering and executive director of the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology.
Dr. Mitra and Dr. Sudip Shyam, a postdoctoral researcher and fellow in the Micro Nano-Scale Transport Lab, led the research in Waterloo. The team developed a technique that closely resembles conditions inside the body to determine wettability—the ability of a liquid to maintain contact with a solid surface of solid objects submerged under liquid. When the Dutch medical team developed their textured heart valves, they asked the pair to conduct tests on their implant's reliability and received positive results.
Learn more about this life-saving solution in Reducing the risk of blood clots after heart surgery.