Hemodynamic study of the elliptic St. Jude Medical valve: A computational study

In this study, we evaluated the hemodynamics around the leaflets in the opening phase using a more sophisticated computational platform, computational fluid dynamics. Results suggested both lower shear stress and wall shear stress values and an overall improved hemodynamic performance in the proposed design. This improvement is characterized by lower values of shear stress and wall shear stress in the regions downstream of the leaflets, lower pressure drop across the valve and smaller recirculation zones in the sinuses areas. The proposed design may open a new chapter in the concept of design and hemodynamic improvement of the next generation of mechanical heart valves.
Source: Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part H: Journal of Engineering in Medicine - Category: Biomedical Engineering Authors: Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research