The key advantage of simulation is the fact that you don’t need access to a laboratory, nor do you need a prototype of your valve. In other words, what is the mass flow rate for a given pressure upstream and downstream of the valve? Such performance data can only be obtained through experiments or simulation. Why simulate with fluid-structure interaction (FSI)?įrom an engineering perspective, it is of key importance to know how much fluid will flow through a valve for a given operating pressure.

In other words, they could last a lifetime and the patient would not have to take blood thinning medicine. Such trileaflet polymer valves have the potential to combine durability with hemocompatibility (see Ref.

Such valves mitigate the need for blood thinning, but they are less durable.Īlternatively, the tissue can be replaced with advanced polymers. The tissue is taken from a human or animal donor. Trieleaflet tissue valves on the other hand feature leaflets made of tissue. Unfortunately, the blood tends to stick to the valve, and the patient will have to take blood thinning medicine. Modern rigid valves are made of plastic, carbon or metal. You can read a full history of the evolution of heart valves here. They open and close because of the deformation of flexible leaflets. Essentially a valve based on the principal of rigid body motion. The first prosthetic heart valve was a ball valve, introduced by Hufnagel and implanted in 1952 (see Ref. It is being estimated that worldwide roughly 250 000 prosthetic heart valves are being implanted each year. According to the CDC, roughly 2.5% of the US population suffers from Valvular Heart Disease, a disease or damage to any of the four valves in the heart. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a national public health institute in the US.

Will I be able to simulate a trileaflet valve in two weeks time with nothing else than my three years old desktop and Simcenter STAR-CCM+? Read this blog to find out! What is a trileaflet heart valve and why care? A trileaflet heart valve (Source: ) A long-awaited opportunity to challenge my skills on an old pet project of mine – the fluid-structure interaction (FSI) modeling of a trileaflet heart valve. With the summer vacation period came the opportunity to focus only on work for two weeks. And while schools and day cares remain closed in some areas, parents continue to face the challenge of parallel work and childcare. Working from home has become the new normal for many of us. By Rafael Ritterbusch A long-awaited opportunity

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