  The goal of this study is a technology analysis of a revolution for the
management of valvular heart diseases given by new technological system based
on transcatheter artificial aortic valve, a delivery catheter and a loading
system for the treatment of aortic stenosis (a narrowing of the aortic valve
because of calcium build up that restricts blood flow to aorta, the body's main
artery) in patients at intermediate and greater risk for surgical therapy. In
particular, this study analyzes the technological trajectories of new
technology of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) in relation to the
established technology of surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). To explore
the emerging technology of TAVI for valvular heart diseases, a model is applied
to show how new TAVI technology is substituting established technologies of
SAVR to revolutionize the management of aortic stenosis in cardiology.
Statistical analyses reveal the sharp increase of the scientific production of
TAVI that has a coefficient of growth as function of time equal to 0.40
(p<.001) versus a coefficient for SAVR technology of 0.10 (p<.001). This
finding suggests a technological forecasting that TAVI will be the dominant
technology for the treatment of patients with valvular heart diseases. Overall,
then, this study shows that new technology of transcatheter aortic valve
implantation (TAVI) introduced in 2002 is growing in terms of scientific,
inventive and innovative activity to revolutionize the management of aortic
stenosis in cardiology worldwide.

Medical Physics