PolyVascular
This Houston, Texas company won for its minimally-invasive pediatric pulmonary valve replacement for young children with congenital heart disease. Existing replacement valves are sized only for teens and adults and are expensive and difficult to manufacture from animal tissue, according to the company website.
PolyVascular set out to design a stent-mounted valve that could be crimped sufficiently to reach a small profile that is compatible with vessel sizes in small children. It uses a next-generation polymer that enables reliable production and offers significant improvements in biocompatibility and durability over previous polymeric options. The company says its valve is easy to manufacture in pediatric and adult sizes, expandable to accommodate children’s growth and reduces the need for open-heart surgeries.
Here are the five runners-up: