Patient-Specific Finite Elements Modeling of the Human Tricuspid Valve: Advancing In-Silico Approach for Improved Repair Outcomes

More than 1 million Americans suffer from disease of the tricuspid valve (TV), like stenosis or ineffective closure that leads to leakage. To make matter worse, current valve repair options and techniques are far from optimal solution, leading to recurrence of leakage in upon 30% of patients. In spite of this clinical burned, few studies have been focused on the biomechanics of the tricuspid valve, which is called “The forgotten valve”. The understanding of the TV-related kinematics and biomechanics is crucial to improve current valve repair options and treatment strategies. These study aims to present a computational simulation of the tricuspid valve closing process under healthy condition. Specifically, computed-tomography (CT) of two patients was adopted to initially segment the models and then replicated the TV kinematics by finite element method (FEM). Valve kinematic and leaflet stress state was quantified during the cardiac beating. The resulting finite-elements model faithfully captures the kinematics and kinetics of the TV under physiological normal conditions. The present approach represents a valuable tool to develop patient-specific TV models in healthy and diseased conditions. Future studies will be carried out to model the presence of different chordae positions and replicated TV insufficiency.