A Strain Energy-Based Constitutive Model for Continuous-Fiber Tissue Engineered Valved Conduit Tissue

Understanding growth and remodeling of extracelluar matrix (ECM) embedded in a scaffold phase is crucial for improving tissue engineering efforts, especially within the context of a mechanically-demanding enviroment to which engineered heart valve tissues (EHVT) are subjected. Our previous modeling efforts at short in vitro timepoints (one to three weeks) [1] illustrated the strong dependency of ECM-scaffold composite mechanical properties on that of the existing continuous scaffold phase. In this work, we build on these efforts by developing a generalized, large-deformation continuum-based model for short timepoint in vitro/in vivo environments and validating it using a ECM-analog system to simulate remodeling tissue. It is our intent to estimate the ECM mechanical quality from the measured scaffold-ECM composite.