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Increasing the thickness and modulus of polypropylene leaflets in artificial heart valves decreases stress, particularly at the commissures, and prevents valve prolapse in a finite element model.
The effect of changing the modulus and thickness of the material in the leaflets of an artificial heart valve has been investigated. This has been achieved with a finite element model of the valve having approximately 2300 thin shell elements. The valve motion and the resulting stresses are modelled dynamically during closure, and subsequent pressurisation. The stresses decrease as the leaflets are made thicker and the modulus is increased. Local and global thickening has been investigated. The highest stresses appear at the tops of the stent posts in the regions of the commissures. When the modulus is too low, or the leaflets are too thin, the valve prolapsed.
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Thornton et al. (1997) studied this question.
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