Deep venous valve

Abstract

Deep venous reflux is a difficult disorder to treat which result in a significant impact on patients quality of life. Currently, treatment revolves mainly around compression and in extreme cases with deep valve transposition. The aim of this thesis is to develop a material for use as a deep venous valve to implant into patients as a novel treatment modality. This thesis explores characterising and testing a novel polymer designed for this purpose, the design of a testing set up for the prosthetic valve in the lab, prior to large animal testing. A prototype was constructed using electrospinning techniques, in reparation for bench testing of a prototype. The testing strategy for the next phase of testing includes cell culture and small animal protocols for safety and biocompatibility of the material, prior to large animal studies of the prototype prior to applying for MHRA approval.