Valvular Heart Disease

Valvular heart disease (VHD) includes a spectrum of frequent pathologies that often require surgical intervention. With an increase in life expectancy, there has been an increase in degenerative VHD in the elderly. Treatment of severe VHD has traditionally been performed with surgery, where the valve is not visualized under physiological conditions. Additionally, percutaneous interventions for treatment of VHD have become more frequent. These interventions are challenging due to a lack of direct visualization of the valves, which makes imaging essential for their success. Currently, it is feasible to obtain three-dimensionally printed valve models from CT, MRI, or echocardiographic data. There are many potential uses for rapid prototyping in VHD, such as surgical planning, hemodynamic testing of the printed valve models in pulsatile flow chambers, surgical training, and patient education. Possibly, the most exciting future application of rapid prototyping is the design of patient-specific valve prostheses. Despite the many limitations that still need to be addressed, rapid prototyping has great potential for improving the management of VHD.