Uploaded April 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Our team has decided to research different materials for mechanical heart valve implants, with a focus on pyrolytic carbon as a refined and complex constituent with a history of nearly 50 years of use in the medical field.1 Mechanical heart valves are an effective approach to treating cardiac valvular disease, particularly stenosis, and are becoming increasingly more prominent as a viable remedy, with pyrolytic carbon serving as a vital component that often coats another prominent material, titanium, in the valves. Current treatment options for cardiac valvular disease include the use of a tissue based valve, often from cow, pig, or even human donors.The advantages of mechanical heart valves over tissue include: increased strength, better durability and lifespan, and a better flow performance. The stronger the valve, the better it can withstand the great pressures that build up during the cardiac cycle, and the more durable the valve, the better it can last and mimic the lifespan of a healthy organic valve. Focusing on the coating of the valves, pyrolytic carbon, also referred to as pyrolytic graphite, is formed when hydrocarbon-rich gases, such as methane or acetylene, are subjected to a high-temperature and high-pressure system, as in Chemical Vapor Deposition. As a result of this fabrication process, PYC properties include having a high density, being non-porous, having a high degree of anisotropy, and having a smooth surface. We plan to investigate further the relationship between the structure and function that gives pyrolytic carbon a significant presence in mechanical heart valve implants and particularly describe how it is processed to provide it with its durability and utility. Preliminary research and our current knowledge suggests that under some conditions, a material boasting a high anisotropy can be subject to failures due to lack of uniformity. Therefore, in the case of PYC coated mechanical heart valves, this could be disastrous; understanding how the anisotropy of PYC affects the function could be a vital first step in properly analyzing the materials present in these valves.
Scholarly Journals:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440405
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440405
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440405
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19852148
Other Sources:
heart-valve-surgery.com/heart-surgery-blog/2008/10/18/calcified-heart-valve-pictures-normal
biosbcc.net/doohan/sample/htm/heart.htm
heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Roles-of-Your-Four-Heart-Valves_UCM_450344_Article.jsp
heart-valve-surgery.com/mitral-valve-prolapse-symptoms.php
biosbcc.net/doohan/sample/htm/heart.htm
youtube.com/watch?v=M8HYmaDpWpE
tubechop.com/watch/5715851
hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/cardiovascular_diseases/anatomy_and_function_of_the_heart_valves_90,P03059
http://www.cts.usc.edu/clinicaltrials-corevalve.html
heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Problem-Heart-Valve-Stenosis_UCM_450369_Article.jsp
mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mitral-valve-regurgitation/home/ovc-20121849
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~nag38/Materials.html
circ.ahajournals.org/content/119/7/1034.full
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~nag38/Materials.html
circ.ahajournals.org/content/119/7/1034.full
onxlti.com/product-divisions/contract-manufacturing-products/on-x-pyrolytic-carbon
iopscience.iop.org/0957-4484/23/4/045102/pdf/nano12_4_045102.pdf
cardiamed.com/UserFiles/PyC.pdf
onxlti.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/onxlti-py-carbon-structure.gif
mrisafety.com/SafetyInfoFromList.asp?LSub=33
swri.org/3pubs/ttoday/summer99/valve.htm
nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_images.jsp?cntn_id=103066&org=NSF
heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Types-of-Replacement-Heart-Valves_UCM_451175_Article.jsp
http://www.ufrgs.br/imunovet/molecular_immunology/prostheses.html
heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Types-of-Replacement-Heart-Valves_UCM_451175_Article.jsp
onxlti.com/message-to-patients/tissue-or-mechanical-heart-valve
kstreetstudio.com/science/experiments/images/SPP480.gif
Our team has decided to research different materials for mechanical heart valve implants, with a focus on pyrolytic carbon as a refined and complex constituent with a history of nearly 50 years of use in the medical field.1 Mechanical heart valves are an effective approach to treating cardiac valvular disease, particularly stenosis, and are becoming increasingly more prominent as a viable remedy, with pyrolytic carbon serving as a vital component that often coats another prominent material, titanium, in the valves. Current treatment options for cardiac valvular disease include the use of a tissue based valve, often from cow, pig, or even human donors.The advantages of mechanical heart valves over tissue include: increased strength, better durability and lifespan, and a better flow performance. The stronger the valve, the better it can withstand the great pressures that build up during the cardiac cycle, and the more durable the valve, the better it can last and mimic the lifespan of a healthy organic valve. Focusing on the coating of the valves, pyrolytic carbon, also referred to as pyrolytic graphite, is formed when hydrocarbon-rich gases, such as methane or acetylene, are subjected to a high-temperature and high-pressure system, as in Chemical Vapor Deposition. As a result of this fabrication process, PYC properties include having a high density, being non-porous, having a high degree of anisotropy, and having a smooth surface. We plan to investigate further the relationship between the structure and function that gives pyrolytic carbon a significant presence in mechanical heart valve implants and particularly describe how it is processed to provide it with its durability and utility. Preliminary research and our current knowledge suggests that under some conditions, a material boasting a high anisotropy can be subject to failures due to lack of uniformity. Therefore, in the case of PYC coated mechanical heart valves, this could be disastrous; understanding how the anisotropy of PYC affects the function could be a vital first step in properly analyzing the materials present in these valves.
Scholarly Journals:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440405
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440405
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2440405
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19852148
Other Sources:
heart-valve-surgery.com/heart-surgery-blog/2008/10/18/calcified-heart-valve-pictures-normal
biosbcc.net/doohan/sample/htm/heart.htm
heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Roles-of-Your-Four-Heart-Valves_UCM_450344_Article.jsp
heart-valve-surgery.com/mitral-valve-prolapse-symptoms.php
biosbcc.net/doohan/sample/htm/heart.htm
youtube.com/watch?v=M8HYmaDpWpE
tubechop.com/watch/5715851
hopkinsmedicine.org/healthlibrary/conditions/cardiovascular_diseases/anatomy_and_function_of_the_heart_valves_90,P03059
http://www.cts.usc.edu/clinicaltrials-corevalve.html
heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Problem-Heart-Valve-Stenosis_UCM_450369_Article.jsp
mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mitral-valve-regurgitation/home/ovc-20121849
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~nag38/Materials.html
circ.ahajournals.org/content/119/7/1034.full
http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~nag38/Materials.html
circ.ahajournals.org/content/119/7/1034.full
onxlti.com/product-divisions/contract-manufacturing-products/on-x-pyrolytic-carbon
iopscience.iop.org/0957-4484/23/4/045102/pdf/nano12_4_045102.pdf
cardiamed.com/UserFiles/PyC.pdf
onxlti.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/onxlti-py-carbon-structure.gif
mrisafety.com/SafetyInfoFromList.asp?LSub=33
swri.org/3pubs/ttoday/summer99/valve.htm
nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_images.jsp?cntn_id=103066&org=NSF
heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Types-of-Replacement-Heart-Valves_UCM_451175_Article.jsp
http://www.ufrgs.br/imunovet/molecular_immunology/prostheses.html
heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Types-of-Replacement-Heart-Valves_UCM_451175_Article.jsp
onxlti.com/message-to-patients/tissue-or-mechanical-heart-valve
kstreetstudio.com/science/experiments/images/SPP480.gif
