Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2026
Combining 3D-Printing and Electrospinning to Manufacture Biomimetic Heart Valve Leaflets
Published on: March 23, 2022
Design and simulation of a poly(vinyl alcohol)-bacterial cellulose nanocomposite mechanical aortic heart valve
H Mohammadi1, D Boughner, L E Millon
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. hmohamm3@uwo.ca
Abstract:
In this study, a polymeric aortic heart valve made of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-bacterial cellulose (BC) nanocomposite is simulated and designed using a hyperelastic non-linear anisotropic material model. A novel nanocomposite biomaterial combination of 15 wt % PVA and 0.5 wt % BC is developed in this study. The mechanical properties of the synthesized PVA-BC are similar to those of the porcine heart valve in both the principal directions. To design the geometry of the leaflets an advance surfacing technique is employed. A Galerkin-based non-linear finite element method is applied to analyse the mechanical behaviour of the leaflet in the closing and opening phases under physiological conditions. The model used in this study can be implemented in mechanical models for any soft tissues such as articular cartilage, tendon, and ligament.
