Key result
St. Jude bileaflet mechanical valves produce lower turbulent stress than four other tested designs.
Why the study?
Mechanical prosthetic heart valves create complex flow patterns with elevated turbulent stresses that may contribute to thromboembolism and hemolysis, but detailed flow dynamics among different valve designs are not fully characterized.
Do different mechanical prosthetic heart valve designs differ in their fluid dynamics and turbulent stresses in an in vitro mitral position model?
Population
Five mechanical heart valves tested in mitral position under pulsatile flow
Comparison
Comparison among Starr-Edwards, Björk-Shiley c-c, Björk-Shiley monostrut, Bicer-Val, and St. Jude Medical valves
Design
In vitro study using cardiac simulator and 2 component laser Doppler anemometer system
Authors
Loading...
Turbulence remains a concern across mechanical valves in vitro; leaves open whether design differences affect clinical hemolysis or thrombosis.
Do different mechanical prosthetic heart valve designs differ in their fluid dynamics and turbulent stresses in an in vitro mitral position model?
In vitro fluid dynamics testing reveals that while all tested mechanical valves generate elevated turbulent stresses, the bileaflet St. Jude valve produces lower turbulence stress levels.
AKUTSU et al. (1997) studied this question. Mechanical heart valves (Starr-Edwards, Björk-Shiley c-c, Björk-Shiley monostrut, Bicer-Val, St. Jude Medical) was evaluated on Velocity and turbulent stresses at 5 downstream locations. All five mechanical heart valve designs created elevated turbulent stresses during accelerating and peak flow phases, with the St. Jude bileaflet design appearing to create lower turbulence stress.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: