Leaky valves: New operation improves the heart's pumping action

The action of any pump will start to decline when the valves no longer close properly. The same goes for the heart, the pump that maintains the circulation in our vascular system. Consequently, a major field of focus of open heart surgery is the repair or replacement of heart valves. Petr Havl a Ph.D. student at the Man Machine Systems section of the TU Delft subfaculty of Mechanical Engineering & Maritime Technology, has developed a technique and the necessary instruments to enable minimally invasive surgery to be used for reinforcing the mitral valve in order to restore the proper pumping action of the heart. Although the technique has not yet been tried on human patients, Havlis confident that it will soon be, and that the new operation will help to improve patients health