Effect of Parametric Variation of Chordae Tendineae Structure on Simulated Atrioventricular Valve Closure

Many approaches have been used to model chordae tendineae geometries in finite element simulations of atrioventricular heart valves. Unfortunately, current "functional" chordae tendineae geometries lack fidelity (e.g., branching) that would be helpful when informing clinical decisions. The objectives of this work are (i) to improve synthetic chordae tendineae geometry fidelity to consider branching and (ii) to define how the chordae tendineae geometry affects finite element simulations of valve closure.

In this work, we develop an open-source method to construct synthetic chordae tendineae geometries in the SlicerHeart Extension of 3D Slicer. The generated geometries are then used in FEBio finite element simulations of atrioventricular valve function to evaluate how variations in chordae tendineae geometry influence valve behavior. Effects are evaluated using functional and mechanical metrics.

Our findings demonstrated that altering the chordae tendineae geometry of a stereotypical mitral valve led to changes in clinically relevant valve metrics (regurgitant orifice area, contact area, and billowing volume) and valve mechanics (first principal strains). Specifically, cross sectional area had the most influence over valve closure metrics, followed by chordae tendineae density, length, radius and branches. We then used this information to showcase the flexibility of our new workflow by altering the chordae tendineae geometry of two additional geometries (mitral valve with annular dilation and tricuspid valve) to improve finite element predictions.

This study presents a flexible, open-source method for generating synthetic chordae tendineae with realistic branching structures. Further, we establish relationships between the chordae tendineae geometry and valve functional/mechanical metrics. This research contribution helps enrich our opensource workflow and brings the finite element simulations closer to use in a patient-specific clinical setting.