Goode Dylan, Dhaliwal Ruby, Schmidt Jaymes, Mequanint Kibret, Mohammadi Hadi
Faculty of Applied Science, School of Engineering, The Heart Valve Performance Laboratory, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, The Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Proc Inst Mech Eng H. 2025 Jun;239(6):584-590. doi: 10.1177/09544119251342868. Epub 2025 Jun 25.
Mechanical heart valves (MHVs) are indispensable in managing valvular disease, yet they often lack the hemodynamic efficiency of native valves and require lifelong anticoagulation therapy to mitigate thrombus formation. This study introduces a novel bileaflet mechanical heart valve (BMHV), the iValve, designed to address these challenges by more closely emulating native valve performance. Central to this research is the development of a custom-built steady-state flow simulator, which provides a cost-effective and innovative approach to visualizing flow dynamics through MHVs. Unlike traditional methods, this simulator allows for detailed observation of flow patterns, focusing on critical regions such as the central flow and hinge areas.Using the novel flow simulator, the flow through the iValve was compared to that of conventional BMHVs, including the SJM/Abbott Regent and On-X valves. The iValve exhibited significantly reduced flow disturbances and vortex formation in the central flow region and effective hinge washing during the forward flow phase. These preliminary findings suggest that the iValve design minimizes energy loss and shear stress on blood elements, potentially reducing or eliminating the need for anticoagulation therapy. The steady-state flow simulator proved invaluable in these assessments, offering precise, qualitative insights into flow behavior that would be challenging to achieve with other methods. Future work, including pulsatile flow simulations and in vivo testing, will further explore the iValve's clinical potential and validate these promising results.
机械心脏瓣膜（MHV）在瓣膜疾病的治疗中不可或缺，但它们往往缺乏天然瓣膜的血流动力学效率，并且需要终身抗凝治疗以减轻血栓形成。本研究介绍了一种新型双叶机械心脏瓣膜（BMHV）——iValve，旨在通过更紧密地模拟天然瓣膜性能来应对这些挑战。这项研究的核心是开发一种定制的稳态血流模拟器，它为可视化通过MHV的血流动力学提供了一种经济高效且创新的方法。与传统方法不同，该模拟器允许详细观察血流模式，重点关注诸如中心血流和铰链区域等关键部位。使用这种新型血流模拟器，将通过iValve的血流与传统BMHV（包括圣犹达医疗/雅培Regent瓣膜和On-X瓣膜）的血流进行了比较。iValve在中心血流区域表现出显著减少的血流紊乱和涡流形成，并且在前向血流阶段具有有效的铰链冲洗作用。这些初步研究结果表明，iValve的设计可将血液成分上的能量损失和剪切应力降至最低，有可能减少或消除抗凝治疗的需求。稳态血流模拟器在这些评估中被证明具有极高价值，它为血流行为提供了精确的定性见解，而这是其他方法难以实现的。未来的工作，包括脉动血流模拟和体内测试，将进一步探索iValve的临床潜力并验证这些有前景的结果。
