New Technologies for Heart Patients

Square leaflet mechanical heart valves allow efficient blood flow with low shear stress because there are no obstructions in the path of blood flow. This patented innovation in mechanical heart valve design is simple, cost-effective, and substantially improves existing mechanical heart valve designs. Rectangular leaflets provide a means to completely remove any central obstruction to blood flow.
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This technology offers a quick, inexpensive, and consistent method for determining the effectiveness of cardioversion in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, and offers physicians a tool to differentiate between patients who will successfully cardiovert and those who will not. Cardioversion returns AF to a normal heart rhythm through either an electric shock or drugs. This technology is rapid, complementary to existing work-ups, and uses existing equipment.
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The Technologies of the Week describe inventions offered for license through the yet2.com marketplace. Search over $2.5 billion of licensable technologies at www.yet2.com.

The Subregional Bone Assessment, a NASA study of the long-term effects of microgravity on the bones of International Space Station crewmembers, showed that the astronauts lost roughly 11% of their total hipbone mass over the course of their mission, more than an elderly woman in a year. While bone mass was regained after a year on Earth, bone structure and density had not recovered. The research focused on weight bearing bones including the hip, which experiences the highest amount of bone loss during a space mission and is the site of the most fractures in the elderly.

One of the first the Human Research Program investigations, similar human health experiments have been done to understand and reduce health and performance risks to astronauts in space. The research aims to predict and address health issues facing astronauts during long-term missions on the Moon, to Mars, or on other microgravity missions.

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