Biomechanics and Biomaterials Design Laboratory (BBDL), School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
Biomechanics and Biomaterials Design Laboratory (BBDL), School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA; Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Science and Technology, School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (IBEST), The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2020 Jan;101:103438. doi: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2019.103438. Epub 2019 Sep 16.
The atrioventricular heart valve (AHV) leaflets are critical to the facilitation of proper unidirectional blood flow through the heart. Previously, studies have been conducted to understand the tissue mechanics of healthy AHV leaflets to inform the development of valve-specific computational models and replacement materials for use in diagnosing and treating valvular heart disease. Generally, these studies involved biaxial mechanical testing of the AHV leaflet tissue specimens to extract relevant mechanical properties. Most of those studies considered freezing-based storage systems based on previous findings for other connective tissues such as aortic tissue or skin. However, there remains no study that specifically examines the effects of freezing storage on the characterized mechanical properties of the AHV leaflets. In this study, we aimed to address this gap in knowledge by performing biaxial mechanical characterizations of the tricuspid valve anterior leaflet (TVAL) tissue both before and after a 48-h freezing period. Primary findings of this study include: (i) a statistically insignificant change in the tissue extensibilities, with the frozen tissues being slightly stiffer and more anisotropic than the fresh tissues; and (ii) minimal variations in the stress relaxation behaviors between the fresh and frozen tissues, with the frozen tissues demonstrating slightly lessened relaxation. The findings from this study suggested that freezing-based storage does not significantly impact the observed mechanical properties of one of the five AHV leaflets-the TVAL. The results from this study are useful for reaffirming the experimental methodologies in the previous studies, as well as informing the tissue preservation methods of future investigations of AHV leaflet mechanics.
房室心脏瓣膜 (AHV) 瓣叶对于促进心脏内单向血流的正常流动至关重要。此前,已有研究旨在了解健康 AHV 瓣叶的组织力学特性,以为瓣膜特异性计算模型的开发和瓣膜置换材料的开发提供信息,以用于诊断和治疗心脏瓣膜疾病。通常,这些研究涉及 AHV 瓣叶组织标本的双轴力学测试,以提取相关的力学特性。其中大多数研究基于先前对主动脉组织或皮肤等其他结缔组织的研究结果,考虑了基于冷冻的存储系统。然而,目前尚无研究专门研究冷冻存储对 AHV 瓣叶特征力学性能的影响。在这项研究中,我们旨在通过对三尖瓣前瓣 (TVAL) 组织进行双轴力学特性分析来解决这一知识空白,该分析在冷冻前和冷冻后 48 小时进行。这项研究的主要发现包括:(i) 组织延性的变化没有统计学意义,冷冻组织比新鲜组织稍硬且各向异性更强;(ii) 新鲜组织和冷冻组织之间的应力松弛行为几乎没有变化,只是冷冻组织的松弛程度略有降低。这项研究的结果表明,基于冷冻的存储方式不会显著影响其中一个 AHV 瓣叶(TVAL)的观察到的力学特性。本研究的结果有助于确认之前研究中的实验方法,同时为未来 AHV 瓣叶力学研究的组织保存方法提供信息。