TITANIUM NITRIDE AND DIAMOND LIKE CARBON COATINGS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR APPLICATIONS - Advanced Biomaterials: Fundamentals, Processing, and Applications - page 690

Animal ID: 11189
Valve ID: P4 05530
Duration of implant: 181 Days
Animal ID: 10376
Valve ID: N04 23-06
Duration of implant: 199 Days
Figure 21.12. Valve explanted after six months of implantation (Mitral position—Infl ow
view). Very good tissue healing around the valve sewing ring, with minimal tissue overgrowth
can be observed in the case of TiN-coated valve cage, compared to uncoated Haynes 25 cage.
and nitride fi lms and plasma proteins and the semi-conducting nature of these
fi lms give them their improved hemocompatibility (Jones et al., 2000).
21.9 POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS
Very good blood and biocompatibility coupled with resistance to wear and inher-
ent stability make DLC and TiN ideal materials for a wide range of cardiovascu-
lar applications. Artifi cial heart valves, bearings for blood pumps, left ventricular
assist devices, and catheters are potential areas of application (Boguslawski et al.,
2001). DLC-coated UHMWPE could be an excellent material for use as a bearing
in rotating cardiovascular appliances like centrifugal blood pumps, cell separa-
tors, implantable cardiovascular pumps, and so on. Another area that is likely to