| 摘要 |
A structure for use as a prosthetic heart valve leaflet includes a two-dimensional array that is made up of one or more fiber strands and that is covered by a web of polymer material to produce a sheet that is impervious to blood. This sheet is stretchable along two axes that lie in the plane of the sheet and that are at an angle to one another. The sheet may be more easily stretched along one of these axes than along the other axis. Along each axis the amount of force required to produce initial increments of stretch may be less than the amount of force required to produce subsequent increments of stretch (i.e., increments of stretch beyond the initial increments).
|
