According to the invention, developing heart valves are exposed to dynamic strains by applying a dynamic pressure difference over the leaflets. The flow is kept to a minimum, serving only as a perfusion system, supplying the developing tissue with fresh nutrients. Standard heart valves were engineered based on PGA/P4HB trileaflet scaffolds seeded with cells isolated from the human saphenous vein. Tissue compaction is constrained by the stent, inducing increasing pre-strain in the tissue. The dynamic strains the tissues are exposed to via the dynamic pressure difference, are estimated using finite element methods based on the mechanical properties of the neo-tissue, in order to get inside into the strain distribution over the leaflet.
