Numerical Modeling of Intraventricular Flow during Diastole after Implantation of BMHV

PLoS One. 2015 May 11;10(5):e0126315. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126315. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

This work presents a numerical simulation of intraventricular flow after the implantation of a bileaflet mechanical heart valve at the mitral position. The left ventricle was simplified conceptually as a truncated prolate spheroid and its motion was prescribed based on that of a healthy subject. The rigid leaflet rotation was driven by the transmitral flow and hence the leaflet dynamics were solved using fluid-structure interaction approach. The simulation results showed that the bileaflet mechanical heart valve at the mitral position behaved similarly to that at the aortic position. Sudden area expansion near the aortic root initiated a clockwise anterior vortex, and the continuous injection of flow through the orifice resulted in further growth of the anterior vortex during diastole, which dominated the intraventricular flow. This flow feature is beneficial to preserving the flow momentum and redirecting the blood flow towards the aortic valve. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to numerically model intraventricular flow with the mechanical heart valve incorporated at the mitral position using a fluid-structure interaction approach. This study facilitates future patient-specific studies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Blood Flow Velocity
  • Computer Simulation
  • Diastole*
  • Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation
  • Heart Valve Prosthesis*
  • Heart Ventricles*
  • Hemodynamics*
  • Humans
  • Models, Cardiovascular*
  • Ventricular Function*
  • Ventricular Pressure

Grants and funding

This work was supported by A*STAR BEP Program (SERC Grant number 103 149 0004) to HLL and JKFH http://www.a-star.edu.sg/Research/Funding-Opportunities/Grants-Sponsorship/SERC-Biomedical-Engineering-Programme-BEP.aspx; National Research Foundation, Singapore under its Cooperative Basic Research Grant and administered by the Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council (NMRC/EDG/1037/2011) (LZ) http://www.nmrc.gov.sg/content/nmrc_internet/home/grant/compgrants/grantedg.html; and Goh Cardiovascular Research Award (Duke-NUSGCR/2013/0009) (LZ) http://www.academic-medicine.edu.sg/amri/content/awarded-grants. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.