Dr. Michael Sacks visits Regenerative Medicine Today and discusses his work on the characterization of cardiac tissue and the various alternatives-now and in the future-for the repair of heart valves.
Dr. Sacks is the director of the Engineered Tissue Mechanics and Mechanobiology Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh where the research focuses on the characterization and modeling of the structure-function-biomechanics of native and engineered soft tissues, and linking these studies to the underlying cellular mechanobiology. One of the areas of interest is on the mechanical behavior and function of mitral heart valves, including the development of the first constitutive (stress-strain) models for these tissues using a structural approach.
In the podcast, Dr. Sacks discusses:
- The roles/demands of different heart valves
- The advantages of a pediatric tissue engineered heart valve
- Mechanical and bio-prosthetic heart valves; capabilities and limitations
- Clinical perspective prosthetic valves
- Repair of valves vs. replacement
- Tissue characterization
Dr. Sacks shares his vision on the state of the art and his perspective on the future opportunities for heart valve repair for children and for adults.
Host John Murphy.
For more information about the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, visit:
McGowan Institute Research Site
McGowan Institute Patient Site
McGowan Institute on Facebook
McGowan Institute on Twitter
