Crossing the Threshold, Leaping Forward: TAVR²S 2025 Concludes Successfully in Xiamen, China!

From March 21 to 23, 2025, the TAVR²S 2025 China Xiamen conference, hosted by Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital Xiamen University (hereinafter referred to as "XMCH") and Beijing Jiekai Cardiovascular Health Foundation, was held with resounding success.

As China’s first international academic conference dedicated to transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve interventions, the event was built upon the principles of "pioneering the frontier, prioritizing practical application." Over three days, the conference brought together 75 leading experts from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan Region, the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region.

Decoding the Future: Unveiling the "Square Root" of Technological Progress

Transcatheter interventions for mitral and tricuspid valves have emerged as a major focus in the treatment of structural heart disease—a consensus strongly echoed by attendees at TAVR²S 2025.

Yet, beyond acknowledging the field’s immense potential, a pivotal question arises: What are the core variables restricting its development, and how can they be overcome?

As a sub-center of the National Clinical Research Center for Cardiovascular Disease and National Regional Medical Center for Cardiovascular Disease, XMCH has actively pursued globalization and industrialization, embracing the "Global Development Initiative." This pursuit has led to the establishment of the BRICS Cardiovascular Health Innovation Center, the launch of the Heart Sapling Visiting Scholar Program, and deep collaborations with international medical institutions and research centers. In June 2024, the hospital took a significant step forward with the inauguration of its International Medical Center, further strengthening its role in high-quality medical development and international outreach.

With the support of XMCH, TAVR²S 2025 stood out as an event rich in both international influence and innovative spirit.

The conference was chaired by Academicians Junbo Ge (Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University) and Jian’an Wang (Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University). Professor Wang Yan, President of XMCH, and globally acclaimed cardiologist Professor Maurizio Taramasso (Zurich Heart Center, Switzerland) served as co-chairs.

The event also featured a prestigious lineup of renowned cardiovascular experts from the United States, Canada, Spain, Italy, Singapore, Russia, Taiwan Region, Hong Kong Region, and China, including:

United States: Luigi Pirelli, Sabah Skaf

Canada: Anson Cheung

Spain: Rodrigo Estevez-Loureiro, Ignacio J. Amat-Santos

Italy: Giulio Russo

Singapore: Yeo Khung Keong

Russia: Aleksei Prokhorikhin

Taiwan:Wei-Hsian Yin, Yung-Tsai Li, Sixian Song

Hong Kong: Yixian Lin, Peiwei Li, Chengfeng Xu

China:

Daxin Zhou from Zhongshan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University,

Guangyuan Song from Anzhen Hospital in Beijing,

Xianbao Liu from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine,

Yongquan Xie from Fuwai Hospital,

Chuanbao Li from Qilu Hospital of Shandong University,

Zhengang Zhao from West China Hospital Sichuan University,

Fanglin Lu from The First People's Hospital of Shanghai,

Lianglong Chen from Fujian Medical University Union Hospital,

Dajun Chai from The First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University,

Bin Wang , Maolong Su ,Chen Xiang from XMCH and many other representative experts and outstanding talents in the fields of transcatheter valve intervention and cardiac ultrasound from around the world have formed the "expert matrix".

Heart Sapling Visiting Scholar from countries such as India, Russia, Egypt, Indonesia, Morocco, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and those from all over the country who wish to deepen their learning of transcatheter valve intervention technology will participate in the seminar.

Regarding the situation, strategies, and requirements, the entire meeting was conducted in English as the main language, supplemented by real-time translation between Chinese and English. Domestic and foreign experts achieved sufficient communication. Not only that, the conference has carried out systematic innovation in the overall academic topic design, abandoning the traditional model of "lectures and reading guides", and instead adopting an advanced teaching system of "precise focus technology demonstration real-time discussion", presenting a strong innovative feature:

The agenda is tightly focused on mitral and tricuspid valve treatment techniques, including but not limited to cutting-edge technology modules such as tricuspid valve edge to edge repair, tricuspid annular repair, tricuspid valve replacement, and tricuspid valve in valve. At the same time, authoritative experts in the field are invited to deeply analyze the technical points and difficulties on specific technical nodes (such as ultrasound guidance strategies, complication prevention, etc.) within a limited time, and systematically sort out the complete surgical chain from anatomical evaluation, image navigation to instrument operation.

After each agenda, there will be a high-level live broadcast of surgeries and in-depth analysis of cases. The structural heart disease intervention team led by Professor  Wang Yan from XMCH carefully selected complex and difficult cases with teaching demonstration significance for full process surgical demonstration. Within two days, 12 surgical live broadcasts were conducted with high frequency, high quality, and seamless connection, fully demonstrating the solid foundation and teamwork of XMCH in the field of structural cardiovascular intervention, and receiving full recognition from experts. Authoritative experts at home and abroad pointed out in their live commentary that "these cases reflect the technological boundaries of tricuspid valve intervention therapy, providing valuable clinical references for international peers

The practical and refined academic exchanges have led to frequent "golden quotes" on site, with a series of viewpoints that not only reflect deeply on the future, but also provide methodological guidance, bringing enlightenment to technological development.

Promoting the development of technology requires more clinical evidence and innovative research, "emphasized Academician Junbo Ge.

Today we stand at a critical crossroads. From a global perspective, the rapid development of artificial intelligence, materials science, and engineering is bringing a new round of innovative driving force for the interventional treatment of mitral and tricuspid valves. At this stage, we must establish a good ecosystem, "said Academician Jian'an Wang.

The mitral valve is a very complex structure, and we must not adopt a one size fits all approach, thinking that one technique can solve everything. We need to form a 'combination fist' and use different techniques to better solve different problems, "said Professor Maurizio Taramasso

From Following to Running Together: The Global Expression of Chinese Intelligent Manufacturing

The intervention of mitral valve in foreign countries started 20 years ago, and the intervention of tricuspid valve also started 5 years ago because they have corresponding equipment. Our mitral valve intervention only started in the past 10 years, and the intervention of tricuspid valve only started in recent years. Therefore, there is a certain gap between us and foreign countries. However, in recent years, China's development speed has been very fast, and various hospitals and centers have slowly started. In addition, our biggest feature in China is that we have particularly good products and equipment, some of which have just been approved by the country, and some are still conducting clinical research. "Professor Wang Yan emphasized in the summary of the meeting.

This judgment is fully supported by reality: the two mitral and tricuspid valve interventional devices that have just been approved for market by China's NMPA have completed the world's first implantation after their launch, demonstrating excellent maneuverability; The live broadcast of robot assisted mitral valve repair surgery, jointly operated by domestic and foreign experts, has opened up the exploration of future artificial intelligence intervention robots.

As an international communication platform, TAVR²S 2025 is not only an academic feast, but also a super linker for domestic and foreign innovative equipment to "introduce and go global".

During the conference, there were innovative technologies such as MitraClip, TriClip, 3D-TEE from abroad, as well as the application and sharing of the latest RCT research. There were also stunning appearances of domestically produced and original Chinese made products such as DragonFly, NeoNova, NeoBlazar, LuX-Valve, K-clip, etc. Not only that, as the "base" for this exchange, XMCH also leveraged its home advantage by showcasing multiple cutting-edge transcatheter mitral and tricuspid valve intervention surgical instruments from both domestic and international sources that have participated in FIM research and pre-market clinical applications at XMCH through surgical live broadcasts, case analysis, and other forms.

On March 23rd, the team's robot assisted M-TEER surgical demonstration was even more eye opening, further demonstrating China's potential in the field of intelligent and information-based development of transcatheter valve intervention. It is worth mentioning that on December 29, 2023, the world's first highly difficult robotic minimally invasive mitral valve TEER procedure completed at XMCH. After more than a year, the team conducted in-depth explorations and completed multiple procedures of the same type. At the meeting, Professor Wang Yan team also reported the latest research results under the theme of "Robot Assisted M-TEER Single Center Experience".

In addition to mutual learning and appreciation of innovative technologies, the collision and resonance of ideas are particularly prominent in different special sessions set up at the conference.

True prolapse during communication? Pseudo prolapse? Exploring the causes of mitral regurgitation and how to obtain an ideal T-TEER TEE section? Tricuspid valve replacement: Where should pacing leads go? The controversial topics of the internal and external "perspectives" of tricuspid valve constriction surgery have been continuously analyzed and deepened in heated discussions. Domestic and foreign experts have expressed their own opinions, including profound insights based on years of clinical experience and innovative ideas from cutting-edge research.

The imagination about the future has also been infinitely expanded here. From the advancement of materials science to the application of artificial intelligence, from the popularization of telemedicine to the realization of personalized medicine, a series of cutting-edge topics have sparked infinite imagination among attendees. In his concluding remarks at the closing ceremony, Professor Wang Yan also emphasized, "In the face of the future, we must not only maintain a reverence for technology, but also have the courage to explore the unknown

When the three major elements of technological accumulation, clinical evidence, and industrial ecology are superimposed, a new charter is being written for the interventional treatment of structural heart disease. With the successful conclusion of the TAVR²S 2025 conference, exchanges and cooperation in the field of transcatheter valve intervention therapy between China and the international community have not only deepened, but also injected new vitality, momentum, and hope into the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in China and even globally.

Creating a new platform, the grand event of win-win will never end; Based in Xiamen, TAVR²S will play a role as a window for opening up to the outside world, and will continue to work with global pioneers in structural heart disease to go further into the future.