Press Release

Friday, 30 January 2015

ESPOIR study start at KU Leuven / New EU-project ARISE

 

Belgian surgeons, led by Prof. Bart Meyns, successfully implanted the first ESPOIR PV valve within the ESPOIR study at the University hospital of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven on the 22th of January 2015.

KU Leuven thereby is the third implanting center within this prospective European wide trial on the use of decellularized homografts for pulmonary valve replacement.

Aortic Valve Replacement using Individualised Regenerative allografts: Bridging the Therapeutic Gap – ARISE

65,000 aortic valve replacements (AVR) are performed in Europe each year to treat acquired and congenital aortic valve diseases. Current AVR options are, however, limited for young patients - especially female patients - and those unwilling to accept life-long medical anticoagulation with its inherent risks. None of the currently available prostheses for AVR is tailored toward the individual patient or allows for individual regeneration. The ARISE project, starting in 2015, will bridge this therapeutic gap in a prospective European clinical study to determine the feasibility, safety and efficacy of regenerative heart valves for aortic valve replacement.

More information will be available shortly under www.arise-clinicaltrial.eu.