Andersen HR. How Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) Was Born: The Struggle for a New Invention.
Front Cardiovasc Med 2021;
8:722693. [PMID:
34660724 PMCID:
PMC8511628 DOI:
10.3389/fcvm.2021.722693]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
This story is about the invention of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), and the people who transformed it from a concept and primitive device to a breakthrough lifesaving treatment for hundreds of thousands of patients with aortic valve stenosis. It is an inspirational example of a new disruptive technology that began with an idea most dismissed. The story describes the ups and downs from idea, design, construction, animal testing, proof-of-concept, scientific publication hurdles, a patent, license agreement, cooperation with several companies, fighting in patent courts in Europe and USA and finally how multinational companies financially bypassed the inventor. It is also a story about the struggles and battles the inventor experienced when injected into a world of lawyers and patent fights. I hope my personal story and journey can provide an inspiration and word of caution for new inventors.
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