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Mass-spring models for the simulation of mitral valve function: Looking for a trade-off between reliability and
O A Pappalardo1, F Sturla2, F Onorati3
1Division of Cardiac Surgery, Department of Surgery, Università degli Studi di Verona, Italy; Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Italy.
Medical Engineering & Physics
|July 22, 2017
Summary
Mass-spring models (MSMs) offer a faster alternative to finite element (FE) models for simulating mitral valve (MV) function. MSMs provide reliable, near real-time simulations of MV closure, aiding surgical planning and training.
Area of Science:
- Computational mechanics
- Cardiovascular modeling
- Biomedical engineering
Background:
- Patient-specific finite element (FE) models are valuable for assessing mitral valve (MV) repair but are computationally intensive.
- Existing simulation methods face limitations in speed, hindering real-time surgical planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To implement and validate mass-spring models (MSMs) for simulating healthy MV systolic closure.
- To evaluate the reliability and time-efficiency of MSMs compared to FE models for MV simulations.
Main Methods:
- Developed MSMs of three healthy MVs using cardiac magnetic resonance (cMR) imaging.
- Simulated systolic MV closure, incorporating papillary muscles, annular motion, and anisotropic tissue properties.
- Compared MSM-derived systolic peak configurations with FE model results.
Main Results:
- MSMs achieved near real-time simulations of MV systolic closure.
- Over 75% of leaflet surface showed mismatches <2x cMR image resolution when comparing MSM and FE models.
- Results were consistent across different mesh refinements and MV anatomies.
Conclusions:
- MSMs offer a viable balance between simulation speed and accuracy for MV systolic configuration.
- MSMs show potential as a clinical tool for surgical decision support and virtual training in MV repair.
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