ABSTRACT
Heart valve disease is a serious condition affecting patients of all ages, ranging from pediatrics to the elderly. Unfortunately, there are no clinically available diagnostics for early detection or noninvasive treatment options. The only remedy for end-stage valve disease is a prosthetic heart valve replacement. However, these nonliving prostheses do not possess the ability to remodel, integrate, and respond biologically with the patient, leading to life-long medications or multiple resizing surgeries. Tissue engineering (TE) offers an enticing strategy to fabricate living, biological heart valve conduits with growth potential. One main obstacle for TE heart valves is recapitulating the heterogeneous micro- and macroarchitecture of the valve to provide the optimal environment for cell adhesion, integration, and remodeling. 3D bioprinting is an emerging strategy to address this challenge by providing the ability to fabricate complex geometries with high fidelity with heterogeneous biochemical and mechanical properties. In this chapter, we shall discuss the current TE strategies and challenges to fabricate engineered heart valves and advances in 3D-bioprinting technology to overcome traditional fabrication limitations.
