Influence of structural size on mechanical properties of nitinol left atrial appendage occluder

Abstract

Abstract Left atrial appendage occlusion is one of the effective measures to prevent left atrial appendage thrombosis and reduce embolism. The structural size of left atrial appendage occluder has an important influence on its mechanical properties and may further affect its effectiveness. In this paper, the diameter shrinkage of nitinol left atrial appendage occluder with different structural sizes under different forces was studied by finite element simulation to evaluate their mechanical properties. It was found that the diameter shrinkage of left atrial appendage occluder of different structural sizes raised with the increase of the applied force. Reducing the width of the auxiliary support part of left atrial appendage occluder could improve the overall flexibility of left atrial appendage occluder although the rigidity of the main support part was slightly reduced. In addition, when the shrinkage rate of the main supporting part was the same, the flexibility of the auxiliary support part was improved. The results may provide a theoretical reference for improving the design of left atrial appendage occluder.