Admedus Ltd (ASX:AHZ) has commenced animal trials by completing the first successful live implantation of its unique single-piece aortic heart valve.
This represents a key milestone in the development of its patented transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) project.
Admedus has partnered with a European lab to examine the safety and feasibility of the unique valve in live sheep.
The first single-piece valve was implanted today officially marking the start of the trial period, which is expected to last for around five months.
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Admedus’s CEO Wayne Paterson said: “Today is a significant step for the TAVR project as we move into the next stage of development.
“It was exciting to observe the first-ever of our unique single-piece valves being placed inside a living heart.
“These experiments are being conducted by global leaders in the field and will provide critical insight for our development team as we accelerate towards product commercialisation.”
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Momentum continues to build after recent lab testing of multiple valves were run out to 400 million cycles, which is roughly 10 years of human use.
Whilst the Admedus valves remained functional after 400 million cycles, the competitor valve showed significant fatigue at 250 million cycles.
Paterson added: “This device has the potential to be a game-changer for patients, the Company and the US$3.5 billion TAVR market.”