Matching Supplies to Save Lives: Linear Programming the Production of Heart Valves

This paper describes the application of a linear programming model at American Edwards Laboratories and the resulting improved productivity in biological heart valve production. The valves are bioprostheses manufactured from porcine hearts and used for human implantation. Since valves demanded by the human population have a different size distribution than valves supplied by pigs, the result has been a supply and demand mismatch that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars of unwanted inventory. The linear programming model was utilized to determine the combination of available suppliers that would provide the best match for the demand distribution. As a result, annual savings exceeded $1,500,000, and both availability and manufacturing control were improved.