Parameter estimation of heart valve leaflet hyperelastic mechanical behavior using an inverse modeling approach

Heart valves control the blood flow and play an extremely important role in the functioning of heart. Either due to congenital defects or due to the changes with remodeling, the leaflets functionality is altered sometimes resulting in less efficient heart output. Such problems are difficult to diagnose at an early stage and may lead to heart failure if left untreated. In this work, we present a method for determining the functional properties of heart valve leaflets from non-invasive imaging modules. As a first step, we use in-vitro experimental data from porcine bioprosthetic heart valve in a flow loop. We present the details of inverse model, its validation against experimental data and sensitivity to various input parameters and optimization constraints. In addition, we briefly touch upon other components of this in-vivo assessment tool - the average fiber architecture and the pre-strain in valve leaflets. This information when combined with the inverse model presented in this work will lead to an in-vivo assessment tool for heart valves and help diagnose problems in the mechanical functionality at an early stage. Additionally, this approach will have the potential to serve as a general-purpose in-vivo assessment tool for heart valves - for evaluating the performance of replaced prosthetic valves as well as monitoring the progression of valve diseases.