Effect of Aortic Valve Geometry on Leaflet Strain Within a Phantom Silicone Aortic Heart Valve During Closing

In the United Kingdom, aortic valve stenosis is a common heart condition and the cause of morbidity within the elderly population. A common treatment for aortic valve stenosis is replacement with a prosthetic valve, either mechanical or bioprosthetic, each with its own advantages and limitations. Here, the aim is to introduce a workflow for the creation and testing of phantom or prosthetic aortic heart valves to verify computational models and test the effect of valve design parameters on strain profile within the valve leaflet. Three silicone valve geometries were created and inserted into a physiologically representative flow system. High‐speed digital image correlation was used to measure displacement and calculate principal strain in a single leaflet. The leaflet free edge was tracked during coaptation while the transvalvular pressure was recorded. A two‐stage closing process was established, the primary stage demonstrating geometry and material dependency, and secondary exhibiting solely material dependency. Areas of high principal strain were identified below the coaptation area with peaks near the commissures. This work highlights the importance of further research into the effect of valve parameters on the strain profile within the leaflets to minimise failure risk in new replacement heart valve designs.