DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF HEALTHY AND EDGE-TO-EDGE REPAIRED MITRAL VALVE BEHAVIOR SUBJECTED TO HIGH G ACCELERATIONS

Abstract

As the mitral leaflets have the greatest area among heart valves and bear the highest pressure load during systole, high G accelerations may result in mitral valve dysfunctions and it might affect the cardiovascular system drastically. In this study, dynamic behavior of healthy and repaired human mitral valves have been numerically simulated during the Early Systolic Phase and the Rapid Filling Phase in a cardiac cycle in high G accelerated environments. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of accelerations on the stress and strain patterns and the configuration of human mitral valve. The geometrical model of the mitral valve has been developed based on in vivo and ex vivo anatomical measurements and the anisotropic nonlinear behavior of mitral leaflets has been modeled by a discrete constitutive approach. Mitral valve behavior has been simulated using an explicit dynamic finite element method to take into account inertial effects and dynamic responses. Analysis results reveal beside different stress–strain patterns generated on mitral leaflets, abnormal deformed configurations result from accelerations which can affect the circulation and the cardiovascular system. It is observed that situations similar to mitral diseases could rise from high G accelerated environments even though the valve maintains its normal physiological structure.