Man Engineers Own Aorta
Mr. Tal Golesworthy, an engineer for british coal, has Marfan syndrome. Marfan syndrome is a genetic defect in the FBN1 gene which incodes the production of fibrillin-1, the structural protein incorporated into elastic fibres in the extra-cellular matrix allowing for an "elastic wireframe" if you will. Essentially certain organs can lose their ability to return to their original shape, the most dangerous case of which is the in the aorta. Slight murmurs and irregular EKG readings can be used to diagnose this condition where the aotra is the primary site of concern. The traditional treatment for this would be a complete aortic trunk replacement using a graft and an artificial heart valve in place. Unfotunately follow up anticoagulants such as warfarin can cause bleeding, even from a small fall. This is where Mr. Golesworthy decided to take matters into his own hands.
He says : "I didn't want to have to live my life in a cotton wool cocoon and I thought I might be able to come up with something less intrusive and complex that didn't require a part of my heart to be taken away."
He used the concept of a bulge in a water hose being mended with duct tape to produce his device. He took the MRIs of his heart and combined this with a computer modelling software to produce 3D printed models of his invention. It took a team 3 years to develop and was finally made out of medical grade gauze. He hopes that trials will start to test the effectiveness of his device allowing it to be rolled out into the NHS as a less invasive, more independant granting procedure.