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Planar Biaxial Creep and Stress Relaxation of the Mitral Valve Anterior Leaflet

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Abstract

A fundamental assumption in mitral valve (MV) therapies is that a repaired or replaced valve should mimic the functionality of the native valve as closely as possible. Thus, improvements in valvular treatments are dependent on the establishment of a complete understanding of the function and mechanical properties of the native normal MV. In a recent study [Grashow et al. ABME 34(2), 2006] we demonstrated that the planar biaxial stress–strain relationship of the MV anterior leaflet (MVAL) exhibited minimal hysteresis and a stress–strain response independent of strain rate, suggesting that MVAL could be modeled as a “quasi-elastic” material. The objective of our current study was to expand these results to provide a more complete picture of the time-dependent mechanical properties of the MVAL. To accomplish this, biaxial stress-relaxation and creep studies were performed on porcine MVAL specimens. Our primary finding was that while the MVAL leaflet exhibited significant stress relaxation, it exhibited negligible creep over the 3-h test. These results furthered our assertion that the MVAL functionally behaves not as a linear or non-linear viscoelastic material, but as an anisotropic quasi-elastic material. These results appear to be unique in the soft tissue literature; suggesting that valvular tissues are unequalled in their ability to withstand significant loading without time-dependent material effects. Moreover, insight into these specialized characteristics can help guide and inform efforts directed toward surgical repair and engineered valvular tissue replacements.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by NIH grant HL-52009. MSS is an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, Engineered Tissue Mechanics Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh, 100 Technology drive, Room 234, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA

    Jonathan S. Grashow, Michael S. Sacks & Jun Liao

  2. McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15219, USA

    Jonathan S. Grashow, Michael S. Sacks & Jun Liao

  3. Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Ajit P. Yoganathan

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  1. Jonathan S. Grashow
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Correspondence to Michael S. Sacks.

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Grashow, J.S., Sacks, M.S., Liao, J. et al. Planar Biaxial Creep and Stress Relaxation of the Mitral Valve Anterior Leaflet. Ann Biomed Eng 34, 1509–1518 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-006-9183-8

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