IN SILICO MODELING of PORCINE PERICARDIAL TISSUE LEAFLETS for TRANSCATHETER MITRAL VALVE REPLACEMENT

Tissue valve in combination with a mechanical valve is predominantly used in stented valvular prostheses. Porcine pericardium (PP) is a promising xenograft in addition to the predominately used porcine aortic valve (PAV) and bovine pericardium (BP) in heart valve replacement. Tissue valves are structurally similar to the valve cusps, upon fixation they function as structural and functional units to restore the failing heart valves. In this paper, the characterization, design and performance of PP based prosthetic mitral leaflets are analyzed. Uniaxial tensile test was performed to characterize glutaraldehyde (GA)-treated PP and evaluate its mechanical properties. Finite element methods were instrumental to design and analyze the performance of PP leaflets. Different geometric parameters were analyzed to obtain ideal valve performance. Since geometrical parameters influence valve performance, two leaflet models of trileaflet and quadrileaflet configuration were studied. BP and PAV leaflet models were designed and analyzed as controls to compare the performance of PP. The stress distribution, bending momentum and coaptation pattern from the finite element determine the performance of the geometrical models. PP exhibited anisotropy, promising tensile strength and pliability. A thinner porcine pericardium with promising tensile strength and pliability is ideal for the development of low-profile prosthetic valves. The quadrileaflet model exhibited.