CSU team eyes synthetics for replacement heart valves

Three researchers at Colorado State University are on a mission to fix a broken heart.

Led by Dr. Lakshmi Prasad Dasi, the research team is working to develop replacement heart valves with a synthetic material that would mimic the tissue composition of other organs in the body, minimizing negative side effects.

In August, Dasi received a $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to conduct a five-year study dedicated to researching synthetic heart valves and finding ways to prevent the problems that plague existing mechanical and bio-prosthetic replacement valves.

An estimated 70,000 to 80,000 heart valve replacement procedures are performed…