Date of Graduation

5-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Biomedical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Jensen, Morten

Abstract

The mitral valve (MV) is responsible for controlling the flow between the left atrium (LA) and left ventricle (LV). This includes maintaining valve closure under high systolic pressures. Mitral regurgitation (MR) occurs when the valve fails to completely close and blood flows in the reverse direction, from the LV to the LA, during ejection. This type of valvular heart disease is prevalent among elderly individuals and is becoming increasingly common as the population ages. In order to better understand how to properly treat this large group of affected individuals, the mechanics of the MV during high systolic pressures must be better understood. The present study used a static model that simulates the pressures and forces that the left side of the heart is subjected to in-vivo throughout systole. The model was designed to obtain force values from each of the exposed papillary muscles (PMs) of an excised porcine MV with simultaneous measurement of the pressure difference across the valve. These data were analyzed to determine how the valve distributes the pressure-induced forces experienced during cardiac ejection. The aim of this study was to determine if the MV leaflets are nearly self-supporting over a wide range of transvalvular pressures. Through isolation of leaflet chordae and elimination of PM and annular chordal forces, this study allowed the relationship between trans-mitral pressure and leaflet chordal forces to be elucidated. The present study showed that the papillary force and trans-mitral pressure relationship is nonlinear, supporting the hypothesis that the MV is nearly self-supporting over the wide range of physiological pressures. However, after creating modifications to the system, to avoid frictional issues within the force transducing lines, contradictory data was obtained. Thus, more experimentation is required to determine the relationship between trans-mitral pressure and leaflet chordal force.

Keywords

Mitral Valve; Force; Cardiovascular; Heart

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