Main Contents begins from here.

Glossary of PLASTICS

N-9-15-1 : Artificial heart valve

The heart valve enclosed in the capsule was developed jointly by Sakakibara Shigeru and Arai Tatsuta of Tokyo Women's Medical University. It has no fixed cage and is movable in its entirety (except for the ring on the base); valve motion is a simple vertical movement. The valve may be used as a mitral, aortal or tricuspid valve and it has been used successfully in many operations. Its action is smooth and it has no injurious effect on the regular functioning of the heart. The valve is made from NTK-22AT stainless steel, the same material as that used for the capsule. The base material is fluoroplastics.

PLASTICS

N-9-17-1 : Artificial arterial graft

The material for this artificial blood vessel, used as an arterial graft, was developed in Japan by Nakao Yoshinobu, in collaboration with Hashimoto Yoshio and Kamiya Kisaku of Nagoya University. After many years of research, including research into traditional filter cloth weaving techniques, the vessel was developed and used in more than 1,000 operations, of which the majority were completely successful. The material is composed of polyester and tetrafluoroethylene fibres; it is formed into a seamless, flexible tube and coated with Teflon for impermeability to leakage. Inter-reaction between Teflon and human tissue is sufficiently small to prevent platelet coagulation and the formation of thrombi.

PLASTICS

Return to top