The effect of patient-specific annular motion on dynamic simulation of mitral valve function

Most surgical procedures for patients with mitral regurgitation (MR) focus on optimization of annular dimension and shape utilizing ring annuloplasty to restore normal annular geometry, increase leaflet coaptation, and reduce regurgitation. Computational studies may provide insight on the effect of annular motion on mitral valve (MV) function through the incorporation of patient-specific MV apparatus geometry from clinical imaging modalities such as echocardiography. In the present study, we have developed a novel algorithm for modeling patient-specific annular motion across the cardiac cycle to further improve our virtual MV modeling and simulation strategy. The MV apparatus including the leaflets, annulus, and location of papillary muscle tips was identified using patient 3D echocardiography data at end diastole and peak systole and converted to virtual MV model. Dynamic annular motion was modeled by incorporating the ECG-gated time-varying scaled annular displacement across the cardiac cycle. We performed dynamic finite element (FE) simulation of two sets of patient data with respect to the presence of MR. Annular morphology, stress distribution across the leaflets and annulus, and contact stress distribution were determined to assess the effect of annular motion on MV function and leaflet coaptation. The effect of dynamic annular motion clearly demonstrated reduced regions with large stress values and provided an improved accuracy in determining the location of improper leaflet coaptation. This strategy has the potential to better quantitate the extent of pathologic MV and better evaluate functional restoration following MV repair.