Current cardiology reports
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Increasing barriers to medical device innovation in the United States including constrained financial resources and rising research costs require that physicians take on greater involvement in medical device development, evaluation, and regulatory processes. Such involvement requires that physicians understand basic aspects of the regulatory process for medical devices and recognize the myriad opportunities for involvement in these activities.
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Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has recently emerged as an alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement for patients with severe aortic stenosis who are at "high risk" or deemed inoperable. Careful pre-procedural preparation requires multi-modality imaging. Intra-procedural imaging frequently relies on transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). This review will discuss the role of TEE in pre-implantation assessment, intra-procedural guidance, and post-implantation evaluation.