The effects of leaflet material properties on the simulated function of regurgitant mitral valves

TL;DR

This study uses finite element models to analyze how leaflet material properties influence mitral valve function, demonstrating that qualitative assessments are feasible without precise tissue property measurements.

Contribution

It introduces a novel automated method for quantifying regurgitant orifice areas and shows that FE analysis can compare valve function despite uncertain tissue properties.

Findings

Valve mechanics are relatively insensitive to tissue softness variations up to 15%.

FE models can qualitatively compare valve function across different structural alterations.

Automated quantification of regurgitant orifice areas enhances analysis accuracy.

Abstract

Advances in three-dimensional imaging provide the ability to construct and analyze finite element (FE) models to evaluate the biomechanical behavior and function of atrioventricular valves. However, while obtaining patient-specific valve geometry is now possible, non-invasive measurement of patient-specific leaflet material properties remains nearly impossible. Both valve geometry and tissue properties play a significant role in governing valve dynamics, leading to the central question of whether clinically relevant insights can be attained from FE analysis of atrioventricular valves without precise knowledge of tissue properties. As such we investigated 1) the influence of tissue extensibility and 2) the effects of constitutive model parameters and leaflet thickness on simulated valve function and mechanics. We compared metrics of valve function (e.g., leaflet coaptation and regurgitant orifice area) and mechanics (e.g., stress and strain) across one normal and three regurgitant mitral valve (MV) models with common mechanisms of regurgitation (annular dilation, leaflet prolapse, leaflet tethering) of both moderate and severe degree. We developed a novel fully-automated approach to accurately quantify regurgitant orifice areas of complex valve geometries. We found that the relative ordering of the mechanical and functional metrics was maintained across a group of valves using material properties up to 15% softer than the representative adult mitral constitutive model. Our findings suggest that FE simulations can be used to qualitatively compare how differences and alterations in valve structure affect relative atrioventricular valve function even in populations where material properties are not precisely known.