Joint ASM & ASME
Biomaterials Challenges in Heart Valve Replacement

October 22, 2007

Presented by

Frederick J. Schoen, M.D., Ph.D.

Harvard Medical School & Brigham & Women’s Hospital

Artificial heart valves exemplify the success of biomaterials and biomedical engineering in clinical medicine. This presentation will provide an overview of the successes and limitations of contemporary mechanical prosthetic and tissue heart valves. Moreover, we will describe the potential use of novel approaches that may be enabled by ongoing scientific and technological advances, including improved materials and designs, collapsible valve configurations that can be inserted through a catheter (not requiring open-heart surgery), and the possibility of creating a living valve replacement with capacity to continuously adapt to changing conditions, and potentially grow (tissue engineered heart valve).

Frederick J. Schoen is Professor of Pathology, Harvard Medical School; Executive Vice-Chairman, Department of Pathology at the Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston. Trained in both materials science (Ph.D., Cornell, 1970) and medicine (M.D. from the University of Miami, 1974), he is an active researcher and teacher in the area of cardiovascular biomaterials.

This program is presented at the Brighotn Town Hall from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Reservations Required. Details are to be found on the ASM website.