| Abstract: | The optimal vascular blood supply throughout the body guarantees the support of normal functions to tissues and organs.Implants are now becoming a seamless extension of the body and shall accompany a higher level of fidelity between the device and the patient.As regenerative medicine is still in its infancy,the ongoing search for new and effective prosthetic alternatives continues to be essential and highly rewarding.Thanks in part to the progress of imaging and the benefits of 3D printing,previously unimagined emergent technologies are at hand.The emerging technologies of the last few decades and the near future will continue to greatly improve both the quality and quantity of patients' lives.They focus on minimally invasive technologies(keyhole surgery) and approaches for deployment of valves,stent-grafts,leadless pacemakers and adaptation of medical devices for destination therapy(assist devices and artificial hearts).In addition,specific blood conduits for the aortic valves together with the aortic arch and the pulmonary valves are considered.These breakthroughs are currently at various stages of development and acceptability.Innovative biomaterials were essential in the development of cardiovascular devices.They were and they still are the essential support for conduction prosthesis,but their place in signal prosthesis is being revisited.Any new development in medical devices has been frequently driven by surgeons and industry.The emergent technologies are introduced by pioneers.The risks and benefits of devices must be continuously reassessed during the lifetime of the implants based upon sound scientific principles of investigation,clinical experience of the users and retrieval programs. |
