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Biaxial Mechanical Characterizations of Atrioventricular Heart Valves
Published on: April 9, 2019
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The Apex bileaflet mechanical heart valve.
Hadi Mohammadi1, Arpin Bhullar1
1Faculty of Applied Science, The Heart Valve Performance Laboratory, School of Engineering, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, Canada.
Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology
|January 15, 2021
Summary
A novel mechanical heart valve (MHV) design, the Apex Valve (AV), demonstrates hemodynamics comparable to tissue valves, addressing limitations of current bileaflet MHVs and reducing red blood cell lysis and thrombogenicity.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cardiovascular Research
- Prosthetic Devices
Background:
- Mechanical heart valves (MHVs) offer durability but cause hemodynamic complications like red blood cell (RBC) lysis and thrombogenicity.
- Current bileaflet MHVs, including the St. Jude Medical (SJM) valve, exhibit non-physiological flow despite central blood flow and minimal pressure drop.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and evaluate a novel bileaflet MHV design with improved hemodynamics.
- To address the design limitations of existing MHVs contributing to thrombogenicity.
Main Methods:
- Identified design limitations of current bileaflet MHVs.
- Developed a new bileaflet MHV design architecture, the Apex Valve (AV).
- Experimentally assessed the hemodynamics of the AV.
Main Results:
- The novel Apex Valve (AV) design demonstrated hemodynamics closer to bioprosthetic valves than traditional bileaflet MHVs.
- The AV design addresses identified limitations of existing MHVs.
Conclusions:
- The proposed Apex Valve (AV) design represents a significant advancement in MHV technology.
- This novel design has the potential to reduce complications associated with current mechanical heart valves.
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