Taber-Cutter Heart Valve
date: label: date made
content: ca 1972
name: label: maker
content: Cutter Laboratories, Inc.
notes: label: Description
content: This is a non-tilting disc valve with pyrolytic disc, titanium guard, and four prongs on top and bottom. The tag attached reads "DEMO ONLY." The frame is made of titanium, a single piece to avoid weld marks, and takes an open strut design (to lower the incidence of thrombosis). There is an additional titanium ring guard attached to these struts that is covered in cloth. The sewing ring is made of Teflon and Dacron. The valve remains sealed in a plastic bag and comes in a clear and blue plastic container. The valve design adopts principles of the Smeloff-Cutter prosthesis by using a full-orifice. The largest size valve that was compatible with the tissue would be used to minimize ventricular obstruction. Another Taber-Cutter valve was tested (that did not have guard or pyrolytic disc) in calves and dogs and results show that the valve may be advantageous for those with stenosis of the mitral valve. As of 1970, the valve had been undergoing accelerated wear testing that equaled 2.5 years of clinical implantation. There was minimal wear and no evidence of cocking.
label: Description
content: Dr. Rodman E. Taber completed medical school at the University of Iowa and afterwards served as a captain aboard a hospital ship in the Pacific during World War II. Following residency in thoracic and vascular surgery, he built a prototype heart lung machine, developed techniques used in freeze drying grafts used in vascular surgery and was instrumental in artificial heart valve design. He served as President of the Michigan Society of Thoracic Surgery.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Michigan
topic: label: Subject
content: Cardiology
label: Subject
content: Artificial Organs
label: Subject
content: Prosthesis
setName: label: See more items in
content: Medicine and Science: Medicine
label: See more items in
content: Artificial Heart Valves
label: See more items in
content: Health & Medicine
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Manuel Villafaña
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2015.0031.49
label: catalog number
content: 2015.0031.49
label: accession number
content: 2015.0031
objectType: label: Object Name
content: cardiology
label: Object Name
content: artificial heart valve
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: titanium (valve material)
label: Physical Description
content: teflon (valve material)
label: Physical Description
content: plastic (container material)
label: Physical Description
content: dacron (valve material)
label: Physical Description
content: pyrolytic carbon (valve material)
label: Measurements
content: container: 3.4 cm x 5.5 cm x 5.5 cm; 1 11/32 in x 2 5/32 in x 2 5/32 in
label: Measurements
content: valve: 1.4 cm x 3.7 cm; 9/16 in x 1 15/32 in