Aortic Valve Mechanics

In about 1–2% of all live births, the human aortic valve only consists of two anomalous leaflets and is known as the bicuspid aortic valve (BAV). BAVs are the most common congenital cardiac anomaly and are associated with significant valvular dysfunction such as calcific aortic stenosis (AS) and aortic regurgitation (AR). BAVs are also associated with aortic wall abnormalities including coarctation of the aorta, ascending aortic dilatation and aneurysms.

av1 — 2D echocardiographic images of the three valve models. In the BAV models, the green dashed line indicates the fused leaflet, and the red dashed line indicates the non-fused leaflet. [2]

av2 — Power spectral density of velocities measured at the location of 1 mm away from the valve leaflets during systole: a comparison between the fused leaflet of the BAV, the nonfused leaflet of the BAV, and a leaflet of the TAV, derived using the sample and hold method (A) and the sample and hold method with refinement to the autocorrelation function (B). [1]

BAV_CEN_PIV — Velocity field visualization for an eccentric BAV [2]

BAV_ECC_PIV — Velocity field visualization for an central BAV [2]

Select Publications

Yap, C. H., Saikrishnan, N., Tamilselvan, G., Vasilyev, N., & Yoganathan, A. P. (2012). The congenital bicuspid aortic valve can experience high-frequency unsteady shear stresses on its leaflet surface. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 303(6), H721-H731.
Saikrishnan, N., Yap, C. H., Milligan, N. C., Vasilyev, N. V., & Yoganathan, A. P. (2012). In vitro characterization of bicuspid aortic valve hemodynamics using particle image velocimetry. Annals of biomedical engineering, 40(8), 1760-1775.