Develop a pressure sensor to measure left ventricular pressure to verify the success of a mitral valve repair surgery.

Project Overview

The mitral valve is one of four valves within the heart, separating the left atrium and left ventricle and ensuring that blood flows through the heart both at the correct time and in the correct direction. When it is damaged, it allows blood to leak backward through the valve in a phenomenon known as mitral valve regurgitation. If left untreated, this condition could lead to serious heart arrhythmias and eventually heart failure. Mitral valve repair is the preferred treatment for mitral valve regurgitation. While it can be performed in a variety of ways, a crucial aspect of the procedure is leakage testing, which involves the injection of saline through the valve to visually evaluate the success of the repair. However, the amount of fluid that is injected is subjective and inconsistent, so it is not currently possible to quantify the left-ventricular pressure at which the repaired valve remains either competent or regurgitant. As a result, it is unknown whether or not the procedure is successful until after the incisions have been closed for an intraoperative echocardiogram (ECG). If there is still an issue, the surgeon is forced to reopen the incisions and make the necessary corrections, adding unnecessary time to the procedure and increasing patient risk. The goal of this project is to develop a device that measures the static pressure within the left ventricle as fluid is being injected to instill confidence that the repaired valve will be able to withstand systolic blood pressure once the heart is restarted.

Team Picture

Contact Information

Team Members

• Meghan Horan - Team Leader
• Nicole Parmenter - Communicator
• Megan Finell - BSAC
• Morgan McGauley - Co-BWIG
• Sydney Polzin - Co-BWIG
• Ellie Dingel - BPAG

Advisor and Client

• Dr. Russ Johnson - Advisor
• Dr. Andreas de Biasi - Client