Mitral valve annuloplasty double by the year 2030. Every year, 300,000 people worldwide undergo open heart surgery for mitral valve repair, 44,000 people in the US alone. Since it was initially established 40 years ago by Professor Alain Carpentier, mitral valve annuloplasty has been continuously improved and is considered the gold standard for the treatment of most etiologies of mitral valve dysfunction today. The goal of mitral valve annuloplasty is to regain mitral valve competence by restoring the physiological form and function of the normal mitral valve apparatus. Under normal conditions the mitral valve undergoes significant dynamic changes in shape and size throughout
Mitral valve annuloplasty the cardiac cycle. These changes are primarily due to the dynamic motion of the surrounding mitral valve annulus, a collageneous structure which attaches the mitral leaflets and the left atrium to the ostium of the left ventricle and the aortic root. Throughout the cardiac cycle, the annulus undergoes a sphincter motion, narrowing down the orifice area during systole to facilitate coaptation of the two leaflets and widens during diastole to allow for easy diastolic filling of the left ventricle. This motion is further enhanced by a pronounced three-dimensional configuration during systole, the characteristic saddle shape. These changes throughout the cycle