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Consistent trilayer biomechanical modeling of aortic valve leaflet tissue
Ahmed A Bakhaty1, Sanjay Govindjee2, Mohammad R K Mofrad3
1Departments of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley, United States; Molecular Cell Biomechanics Laboratory, Departments of Bioengineering and Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, United States.
Journal of Biomechanics
|August 24, 2017
Summary
This study models aortic valve tissue's complex mechanical properties, including collagen and prestress, to better understand its function in health and disease.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Continuum Mechanics
- Biomaterials Science
Background:
- Aortic valve tissue exhibits complex nonlinear, anisotropic, and heterogeneous material behavior.
- Understanding this behavior is crucial for developing accurate numerical models of valve function.
- Existing models may not fully capture the microstructural and mechanical intricacies of the tissue.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a continuum mechanics framework that accurately captures the physical response of aortic valve tissue.
- To investigate the roles of collagen fiber microstructure and native prestressing in tissue mechanics.
- To establish a foundation for advanced multiscale and multiphysics modeling of the aortic valve.
Main Methods:
- Development of a constitutive model within a continuum mechanics framework.
- Incorporation of collagen fiber microstructure and native prestressing into the model.
- Consideration of the heterogeneous layer-scale topology of the aortic valve tissue.
Main Results:
- The proposed model successfully captures the experimentally observed multiscale mechanical behavior of aortic valve tissue.
- The model provides insights into the underlying mechanics influenced by microstructure and prestress.
- The framework allows for consistent representation of the tissue's physical response.
Conclusions:
- The developed model effectively reproduces the mechanical behavior of aortic valve tissue.
- Accurately modeling collagen microstructure and prestress is key to understanding valve mechanics.
- This work is a significant step towards comprehensive multiscale and multiphysics models for the aortic valve.
