<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIf the heart\u2019s mitral valve seal gets loose, blood can begin to leak or pump in the wrong direction. Severe blood leakage, called regurgitation, causes the heart to overwork \u2014 and can lead to heart failure. When leaks become severe, many patients opt for a surgically implanted ring or clip that reinforces the \u201cannulus\u201d around the valve, making backward blood flow much less likely. Medical advancements have made these procedures gradually less invasive, but for some patients, surgery is still too risky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
NC State University Faculty Scholar Joseph Tracy, a professor of materials science and engineering, might have found a way to make surgery a safer option for many more of the millions of Americans who have mitral valve regurgitation. Together with Dr. Muath Bishawi, a cardiac surgeon and clinical researcher at Duke University\u2019s School of Medicine, Tracy and his now-former student Matt Clary, who recently earned his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering, have developed a magnetic device that could make it simpler for surgeons to anchor a metal ring around the mitral valve\u2019s annulus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A large part of open-heart surgery\u2019s inherent risk stems from the need to temporarily stop a patient\u2019s heart. The team\u2019s device is designed to be implanted while the heart is actively beating.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With CIF and 2ndF support, the researchers will finish developing a functional prototype and also assess the FDA\u2019s regulatory path to eventual clinical trials. <\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Six new commercially focused research projects will receive support from the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund this year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":235,"featured_media":33392,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-immersive-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"backgroundColor\":\"custombg_two\",\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"subtitle\":\"The Chancellor\u2019s Innovation Fund has selected six more research projects to support this coming year.\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[177,121,108,75],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-33391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chancellors-innovation-fund","tag-commercialization","tag-engineering","tag-research-funding"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Catalyzing Creative Concepts to Solve Commercial Challenges - Office of Research and Innovation<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n