Title: FE analysis applied for validation of a biostable aortic valve replacement device: stent and leaflet material selection

Authors: Fernandez-Perez Nora; Gonzalez-Lopez Sergio; Rodriguez-Rivero Cristina; Ciobanu Constantin; Saint-Pierre Guillaume

Addresses: Inspiralia, A Pera Technology Company, Calle Estrada 10B, Madrid 28034, Spain ' Inspiralia, A Pera Technology Company, Calle Estrada 10B, Madrid 28034, Spain ' Inspiralia, A Pera Technology Company, Calle Estrada 10B, Madrid 28034, Spain ' Petru Poni Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Aleea Grigore Ghica Voda, 41 A, Iasi 700487, Romania ' Inspiralia, A Pera Technology Company, Calle Estrada 10B, Madrid 28034, Spain

Abstract: Tissue Engineering (TE) is a multidisciplinary field where material science, cellular and molecular biology meet to develop practical solutions for restoring damaged tissue. Whilst intensive research has been carried out towards the development of suitable polymers for the scaffold application, end product considerations such as behaviour and constraints are often omitted hereby limiting their possible high impact in the fields of skin, cardiovascular and bone tissue regeneration. In this work, we report the use of the Finite Element Method (FEM) as an essential tool for material selection and prosthesis design. Applied to cardiovascular TE and, more particularly, to Heart Valve (HV) replacement therapy, an FEM model was developed to study the mechanics (regurgitation, maximum stress and strains and valve opening, etc.) of a bioprosthetic tri-leaflet HV. Through the present approach, the results were twofold: material selection and validation for both the stent and leaflet components of an aortic valve prosthetic device.

Keywords: FEA; finite element analysis; replacement aortic valves; cardiovascular tissue engineering; scaffold; biomaterials; electrospinning; polyurethane prosthesis; stent materials; leaflet materials; materials selection; heart valves; finite element method; FEM; prosthesis design; heart valve replacement; bioprosthetics.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBET.2012.049221

International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, 2012 Vol.9 No.4, pp.378 - 394

Published online: 12 Dec 2014 *

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