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Finite Element Strategies to Satisfy Clinical and Engineering Requirements in the Field of Percutaneous Valves

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Abstract

Finite element (FE) modelling can be a very resourceful tool in the field of cardiovascular devices. To ensure result reliability, FE models must be validated experimentally against physical data. Their clinical application (e.g., patients’ suitability, morphological evaluation) also requires fast simulation process and access to results, while engineering applications need highly accurate results. This study shows how FE models with different mesh discretisations can suit clinical and engineering requirements for studying a novel device designed for percutaneous valve implantation. Following sensitivity analysis and experimental characterisation of the materials, the stent-graft was first studied in a simplified geometry (i.e., compliant cylinder) and validated against in vitro data, and then in a patient-specific implantation site (i.e., distensible right ventricular outflow tract). Different meshing strategies using solid, beam and shell elements were tested. Results showed excellent agreement between computational and experimental data in the simplified implantation site. Beam elements were found to be convenient for clinical applications, providing reliable results in less than one hour in a patient-specific anatomical model. Solid elements remain the FE choice for engineering applications, albeit more computationally expensive (>100 times). This work also showed how information on device mechanical behaviour differs when acquired in a simplified model as opposed to a patient-specific model.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following funding bodies: Rosetrees Trust, Fondation Leducq, British Heart Foundation, Royal Academy of Engineering/EPSRC and the UK National Institute of Health Research. We also thank the scientists from Medtronic Cardiovascular for their technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Cardiovascular Imaging, UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, Great Ormond Street, London, WC1N 3JH, UK

    Claudio Capelli, Giovanni Biglino, Andrew M. Taylor & Silvia Schievano

  2. Laboratory of Biological Structure Mechanics, Structural Engineering Department, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Lorenza Petrini & Francesco Migliavacca

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, UCL, London, UK

    Daria Cosentino

  4. Fondazione G. Monasterio, CNR – Regione Toscana, Pisa, Italy

    Philipp Bonhoeffer

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  1. Claudio Capelli
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  4. Francesco Migliavacca
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  8. Silvia Schievano
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Correspondence to Claudio Capelli.

Additional information

Associate Editor Joel D. Stitzel oversaw the review of this article.

Claudio Capelli and Giovanni Biglino contributed equally to this publication.

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Capelli, C., Biglino, G., Petrini, L. et al. Finite Element Strategies to Satisfy Clinical and Engineering Requirements in the Field of Percutaneous Valves. Ann Biomed Eng 40, 2663–2673 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-012-0617-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-012-0617-1

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