Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41721571›Full record

ArticleAdvanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)2026

A Soft Robotic Model for Simulating Heart Valve Disease and Cardiac Interventions.

James Davies, Emanuele Nicotra, Kefan Zhu, Chi Cong Nguyen, Bibhu Sharma, Adrienne Ji, Phuoc Thien Phan, Jingjing Wan, Patrick Pruscino, Hermione Truong and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

James DaviesSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Emanuele NicotraSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Kefan ZhuSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Chi Cong NguyenSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Bibhu SharmaSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Adrienne JiSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Phuoc Thien PhanSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Jingjing WanSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Patrick PruscinoSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Hermione TruongSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Jelena Rnjak-KovacinaSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Hoang-Phuong PhanSchool of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Christopher HaywardDepartment of Cardiology, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Nigel Hamilton LovellSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Thanh Nho DoSchool of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of New South Wales Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4980-5251

Funding

Australian Research Council FT210100668National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Ideas grant RG241515National Heart Foundation of Australia RG204224NSW Health/Cardiovascular Research Capacity Program-Collaborative Grant RG223731NSW Health/Cardiovascular Research Capacity Program-Senior and Early-Mid Career Researcher Grants RG242730UNSW 3Rs Grant RG192608-LUNSW Scientia Fellowship Grant PS46197-A
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The heart is a dynamic, multisystem organ whose motion is dictated by a complex but organized muscular architecture. Each component is vital to its performance, with the valves being especially critical for ensuring pumping efficiency, yet they are among the most common sites of pathology. Treatment of heart disease is being delivered via minimally invasive procedures to improve patient outcomes and experience. The development of new surgical tools and procedures would greatly benefit from a stable, controllable, and biomimetic simulation platform that accurately replicates the heart's biomechanics and hemodynamics, yet no such system exists. This work introduces a fully synthetic, soft robotic left heart simulator capable of replicating the complex motions of native heart. Its advanced fabrication process is programmable, enabling both patient- and disease-specific cardiac geometries, structures, and valves. The simulator is compatible with clinical echocardiographic imaging, enabling identification of various valvular pathologies based on clinical diagnostic criteria. Its utility is further demonstrated through the evaluation of a new soft robotic cardiac catheter with in-situ contact force sensing and feedforward, data-driven control system. With controllable artificial musculature and customizable internal cardiac structures and geometry, the simulator offers a robust platform for investigating cardiac disease and assessing emerging therapeutic technologies.

Indexed as

BiomimeticsHeart Valve DiseasesModels, CardiovascularRoboticsRobotic Surgical ProceduresComputer SimulationHumanscardiac cathetercardiac interventionheart simulatorheart valve diseasessoft robotics

Identifiers

PMID41721571
PMCPMC13170261

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.