Novel Micro-Implant to Measure Intracardiac Pressure in Congenital Heart Patients

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): PROJECT SUMMARY Congenital heart disease patients with functional single ventricle (FSV) anatomy ultimately require a Fontan operation for long term survival. The goal of the Fontan operation is to re-route systemic venous blood to the pulmonary circulation without passing through an intervening ventricular chamber. As a result, blood flow to the lungs is almost entirely a passive, non-pulsatile process. Although morbidity and mortality associated with the Fontan procedure has improved considerably over the last decade, there are still many patients who develop complications and eventual Fontan failure for reasons we do not yet entirely understand. The pressure in the Fontan pathway is arguably the single measurement thatmost closely predicts the overall health of the palliated circulation. This measurement reflects the general condition of all the cardiac and vascular structures that lie between the branch pulmonary arteries and the systemic single ventricle. Unfor