Innovators Under 35
I9. Svenja Hinderer, 32
Fraunhofer
Institute
A design for a heart valve that’s
biodegradable—potentially eliminating the need for repeat surgeries.
Problem: Over
85,000 Americans receive artificial heart valves, but such valves don’t last
forever, and replacing them involves a costly and invasive surgery. In
children, they must be replaced repeatedly.
Solution: Svenja
Hinderer, who leads a research group at the Fraunhofer Institute in Stuttgart,
Germany, has created a biodegradable heart valve that studies strongly suggest
will be replaced over time by a patient’s own cells.
To accomplish this,
Hinderer created a scaffolding of biodegradable fibers that mimic the elastic
properties of healthy tissues. To it she attaches proteins with the power to
attract the stem cells that naturally circulate in the blood. The idea is that
once implanted, her heart valve would be colonized and then replaced by a
patient’s own cells within two to three years.
—Russ Juskalian
—Russ Juskalian
MIT TECHNOLOGY REVIEW
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