A new in vitro test method for calcification of bioprosthetic heart valves

To investigate the calcification behavior of different bioprosthetic heart valves and verify possible hypotheses of the etiology of valve calcification, an accelerated pulse tester for bioprostheses was developed, whereby up to ten valves can be tested under identical test conditions. Each valve was mounted in a separate compartment on a piston and cyclically moved through a calcifying solution at frequencies of up to 800/min at 37 degrees C: An appropriate calcifying solution was evaluated by incubation tests of bovine and porcine tissue. Calcification was confirmed by measuring Ca and phosphate depletion by atomic absorption spectroscopy, von Kossa staining, EDAX, and microradiography. The first tests were successfully carried out on porcine valves that had been nondestructively assessed for tissue/stress anomalies by holographic interferometry prior to the calcification test. The tests showed that 75% of irregular fringe pattern areas corresponded to the calcification areas.