Dr. Pavcnik

	A) Venous valves B) Valve in a plastic tube

The late nineties saw significant expansion of the Institute’s device research and device testing, particularly with the arrival of Dr. Dusan Pavcnik. Dr. Pavcnik has successfully completed an experimental study on his device – Monodisk – for occlusion of cardiac septal defects. The Institute research team has also been exploring the newest device by Dr. Pavcnik, a Square stent that has great potential as a device carrier. Experimental research work on its application as a retrievable Square stent IVC filter has been completed and this filter is being developed by Ella-CS Company in the Czech Republic. The Square stent has been also successfully tested as a large vessel occluder, stent graft and stent graft adapter. Presently, the Square stent is being explored as a carrier for venous and aortic valves.

Exploration is being done with the use of a new biomaterial cover – small intestinal submucosa (SIS) – developed by Cook Biotech of Lafayette, Indiana. This collagen-based degradable biomaterial, obtained from a swine’s small intestine, is acting as a scaffold for tissue remodeling and has a great potential as cover for a variety of devices. It should improve applications of covered stents, stent grafts, vascular occluders, and venous and aortic valves. SIS is currently also being explored for use as a biliary and tracheal stent cover.