- Today
- Holidays
- Birthdays
- Reminders
- Cities
- Atlanta
- Austin
- Baltimore
- Berwyn
- Beverly Hills
- Birmingham
- Boston
- Brooklyn
- Buffalo
- Charlotte
- Chicago
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dallas
- Denver
- Detroit
- Fort Worth
- Houston
- Indianapolis
- Knoxville
- Las Vegas
- Los Angeles
- Louisville
- Madison
- Memphis
- Miami
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis
- Nashville
- New Orleans
- New York
- Omaha
- Orlando
- Philadelphia
- Phoenix
- Pittsburgh
- Portland
- Raleigh
- Richmond
- Rutherford
- Sacramento
- Salt Lake City
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- Seattle
- Tampa
- Tucson
- Washington
Draper's LEAP Valve Demonstrates Spontaneous "Growth" in Preclinical Studies
The pediatric heart valve is designed to adapt to a child's growth, reducing the need for surgeries and procedures.
Published on Mar. 10, 2026
Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›
Draper's Low-force Expanding/Adaptable Pediatric (LEAP) Valve, a pediatric heart valve that can spontaneously expand as a child grows, has shown promising results in preclinical studies. The valve utilizes a unique stent design with built-in spring structures that allow it to adapt in diameter from 7-14 mm without damaging surrounding tissues. In tests on rapidly growing piglets, the LEAP Valve demonstrated good valve function and expanded by 50% over six weeks, equivalent to the valve diameter of a 4-6 year old child.
Why it matters
Current pediatric heart valve implants require multiple surgical replacements or transcatheter procedures as children grow, posing risks and burdens for young patients. The LEAP Valve's ability to spontaneously adapt to a child's growth could eliminate the need for these repeat interventions, improving outcomes and quality of life.
The details
The LEAP Valve utilizes a unique stent design with built-in spring structures that allow the valve to expand as a child grows without damaging surrounding tissues. In preclinical tests on rapidly growing piglets, the valve was initially constrained to a small 8-9 mm diameter, similar to human infants. Over 2-6 weeks post-implantation, the valve demonstrated proportional expansion, reaching a 13 mm diameter (50% increase) - equivalent to the valve size of a 4-6 year old child.
- The preclinical feasibility tests were conducted over a 2-6 week period.
- The LEAP Valve was examined at one-week intervals during this time.
The players
Draper
A non-profit research, development, and manufacturing company that solves important challenges, with a focus on strategic systems, space systems, electronic systems, and biotechnology systems.
Corin Williams
A biomedical engineer at Draper who leads the development team for the LEAP Valve.
Seattle Children's Research Institute
An organization that collaborated on the preclinical testing of the LEAP Valve.
Boston Children's Hospital
An organization that collaborated on the preclinical testing of the LEAP Valve.
University of Minnesota, Experimental Surgical Services Laboratory
An organization that collaborated on the preclinical testing of the LEAP Valve.
What they’re saying
“The initial results represent an important first step towards a growth-adaptive device that can eliminate at least one surgical replacement of current commercial implants or between one and three transcatheter procedures for balloon-expandable valves implanted in infants and young children.”
— Corin Williams, biomedical engineer at Draper (prnewswire.com)
What’s next
The researchers plan to continue preclinical testing and development of the LEAP Valve, with the goal of eventually conducting human clinical trials.
The takeaway
The LEAP Valve's ability to spontaneously adapt to a child's growth could revolutionize pediatric heart valve treatments, eliminating the need for multiple invasive procedures and improving outcomes for young patients.
