Fig. 6

Silicone based patient-specific mitral valve replicas using an indirect injection moulding technique. Image A demonstrates a 3D echo dataset used to create a patient-specific rigid mould of the mitral valve in diastole B into which tissue mimicking silicone is applied. Image C shows incorporation of the silicone made mitral valve replica into an assembly that allows integration of the model into the mock circulatory circuit. Valve replicas can be modified per the proposed interventional strategy such as edge-edge mitral leaflet repair D or placement of an annuloplasty ring (E). These replicas can then be mounted and evaluated using transoesaphageal echo within a mock circulatory circuit (F)