Abstract
Limited knowledge exists about the forces acting on mitral valve annuloplasty repair devices. The aim of this study was to develop a new mitral annular force transducer to measure the forces acting on clinically used mitral valve annuloplasty devices. The design of an X-shaped transducer in the present study was optimized for simultaneous in- and out-of-plane force measurements. Each arm was mounted with strain gauges on four circumferential elements to measure out-of-plane forces, and the central parts of the X-arms were mounted with two strain gauges to measure in-plane forces. A dedicated calibration setup was developed to calibrate isolated forces with tension and compression for in- and out-of-plane measurements. With this setup, it was possible with linear equations to isolate and distinguish measured forces between the two planes and minimize transducer arm crosstalk. An in-vitro test was performed to verify the crosstalk elimination method and the assumptions behind it. The force transducer was implanted and evaluated in an 80kg porcine in-vivo model. Following crosstalk elimination, in-plane systolic force accumulation was found to be in average 4.0±0.1N and the out-of-plane annular segments experienced an average force of 1.4±0.4N. Directions of the systolic out-of-plane forces indicated movements towards a saddle shaped annulus, and the transducer was able to measure independent directional forces in individual annular segments. Further measurements with the new transducer coupled with clinical annuloplasty rings will provide a detailed insight into the biomechanical dynamics of these devices.
| Originalsprog | Engelsk |
|---|---|
| Tidsskrift | Journal of Biomechanics |
| Vol/bind | 49 |
| Nummer | 5 |
| Sider (fra-til) | 742-8 |
| Antal sider | 7 |
| ISSN | 0021-9290 |
| DOI | |
| Status | Udgivet - 21 mar. 2016 |