In Silico ,In Vitro and In Vivo Testing of Biodevices - Advanced Design and Manufacturing Technologies for Biomedical Devices - page 278

Fig. 15.10 In vitro trials of
shape-memory polymer
annuloplasty ring for
progressive treatment of
mitral valve insuffi ciency.
Porcine heart used as animal
model due to its similarity to
human heart. Results from
geometrical changes due to
actuation of the active
prosthesis, aimed at the
reduction of mitral valve
section
mounted on balloon and pharmaceutically enhanced or not), for comparing the
performance of different available solutions and for validating novel geometries or
actuation principles.
The different approaches to the development of simulators, either those based on
acting on physical prototypes of biological models, those combining force feedback
with virtual reality or those using mixed approaches, including force feedback and
images obtained from physical biological models, complement each other, and all
of them provide different advantages for in vitro validating surgical procedures in
which novel biodevices may be involved, thus helping to reduce the number of ani-
mals used for preclinical in vivo trials (Fig. 15.10 ).