Key result
A novel computational model using an exact anatomical model of the aortic root and realistic boundary conditions was developed to assess the hemodynamics of bileaflet mechanical heart valves.
A novel computational fluid dynamics model with realistic anatomical geometry and boundary conditions improves the hemodynamic assessment of bileaflet mechanical heart valves.
Hypothesis-generating for bileaflet valve hemodynamics; leaves open clinical validation before design changes.
A powerful alternative means to study the hemodynamics of bileaflet mechanical heart valves is the computational fluid dynamics method. It is well recognized that computational fluid dynamics allows reliable physiological blood flow simulation and measurements of flow parameters. To date, in almost all of the modeling studies on the hemodynamics of bileaflet mechanical heart valves, a velocity (mass flow)-based boundary condition and an axisymmetric geometry for the aortic root have been assigned, which, to some extent, are erroneous. Also, there have been contradictory reports of the profile of velocity in downstream of leaflets, that is, in some studies, it is suggested that the maximum blood velocity occurs in the lateral orifice, and in some other studies, it is postulated that the maximum velocities in the main and lateral orifices are identical. The reported values for the peak velocities range from 1 to 3 m/s, which highly depend on the model assumptions. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the importance of the exact anatomical model of the aortic root and the realistic boundary conditions in the hemodynamics of the bileaflet mechanical heart valves. The model considered in this study is based on the St Jude Medical valve in a novel modeling platform. Through a more realistic geometrical model for the aortic root and the St Jude Medical valve, we have developed a new set of boundary conditions in order to be used for the assessment of the hemodynamics of aortic bileaflet mechanical heart valves. The results of this study are significant for the design improvement of conventional bileaflet mechanical heart valves and for the design of the next generation of prosthetic valves.
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Jahandardoost et al. (2015) studied Bileaflet mechanical heart valves hemodynamics. Exact anatomical model of the aortic root and realistic boundary conditions vs. Velocity (mass flow)-based boundary condition and axisymmetric geometry was evaluated on Hemodynamics of aortic bileaflet mechanical heart valves. A novel computational model using an exact anatomical model of the aortic root and realistic boundary conditions was developed to assess the hemodynamics of bileaflet mechanical heart valves.
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