Studies have shown the Autus Valve maintains control of blood flow as it expands. [Image courtesy of Boston Children’s Hospital]
Boston Children’s Hospital says it began conducting FDA-approved early clinical studies of its heart valve that expands over time.In 2020, the hospital published research on its innovative heart valve design. It could allow children to maintain the same prosthetic heart valve until adulthood. This could also benefit adults with heart valve defects. The hospital calls it the “Autus Valve.”
Boston Children’s developed the valve because children with congenital heart disease receive fixed-size valves. These require multiple open-heart surgeries during childhood to replace valves with larger versions. Early simulations and animal tasting demonstrated successes through a range of sizes. They also showed retained functionality when expanded by a minimally inv…