A High-Fidelity and Micro-anatomically Accurate 3D Finite Element Model for Simulations of Functional Mitral Valve

Promising mitral valve (MV) repair concepts include leaflet augmentation and saddle shaped annuloplasty, and recent long-term studies have indicated that excessive tissue stress and the resulting strain-induced tissue failure are important etiologic factors leading to the recurrence of significant MR after repair. In the present work, we are aiming at developing a high-fidelity computational framework, incorporating detailed collagen fiber architecture, accurate constitutive models for soft valve tissues, and micro-anatomically accurate valvular geometry, for simulations of functional mitral valves which allows us to investigate the organ-level mechanical responses due to physiological loadings. This computational tools also provides a means, with some extension in the future, to help the understanding of the connection between the repair-induced altered stresses/strains and valve functions, and ultimately to aid in the optimal design of MV repair procedure with better performance and durability.