Apparatus and method for sterilizing, seeding, culturing, storing, shipping, and testing tissue, synthetic, or mechanical heart valves orvalve segments

An apparatus, comprising:

• a varying pressure source;
• a bladder cooperating with said varying pressure source, wherein said varying pressure source moves the bladder from a first position to a second position;
• a supply of fluid in communication with the bladder;
• chamber having a first port and a second port, said first port in communication with the bladder;
• a heart valve substrate disposed within said chamber designed to facilitate three-dimensional tissue growth on said substrate;
• and
• a support structure mounted within the chamber, said support structure supporting the heart valve substrate within the chamber while permitting flow of the fluid around the heart valve substrate and in contact with the heart valve substrate;
• wherein the bladder moving between said first and second positions creates an alternating pressure differential across the heart valve substrate to provide a bidirectional fluid flow acting on the heart valve substrate.

A method for treating a prosthesis, comprising:

• holding the prosthesis in a chamber adapted for flow of fluid therethrough from a fluid supply, said prosthesis designed to facilitate three-dimensional tissue growth on said prosthesis;
• expanding a bladder to draw fluid into the bladder from the fluid supply and from the chamber through the prosthesis in a first direction;
• and
• contracting the bladder to force fluid from the bladder to act on the prosthesis in a second direction.