Quasi-Static Simulation of Percutaneous Aortic Valve Leaflet Deformation

Aortic valve stenosis (AS) — an abnormal narrowing of the aortic valve — is the most common valvular heart disease in western world. The current standard treatment for severe AS remains the open-heart valve surgery to replace the stenotic aortic valve with a prosthetic device. However, for high-risk patients with advanced age and/or other diseases, this very invasive surgery is considered to be excessively risky. It is reported that 30% of such patients with symptomatic AS are not referred for surgery because of the high perioperative mortality rate. Recently, minimally invasive percutaneous aortic valve (PAV) replacement has been developed and tested in patients. Although significant experience has been gained through multicenter clinical trials, PAV therapy is clearly in its infancy. Various adverse effects such as device dysfunction, myocardial infarction, peripheral embolism, aortic injury, and perivalvular leakage have been reported. Furthermore, durability and safety of PAV devices need to be evaluated and studied carefully.