The Effect of a Shape of the Mitral Valve Orifice on an Intraventricular Diastolic Flow

Abstract

CFD of intraventricular diastolic flow was carried out to study the effects of the shape of the mitral valve orifice during its opening. The results showed that intraventricular blood flow, especially a shape of vortex ring, was changed when different opening mode of the mitral valve orifice was used. A change in blood flow was reflected in a shape of the aliasing area appearing in Color M-mode Doppler (CMD) echocardiograms. Based on the results, we discussed the applicability of CMD echocardiography for detecting mitral valve disorders that involves a change in the shape of the mitral valve orifice. From discussions on fluidic advantages of the formation of intraventricular diastolic vortex, it is suggested that a shape of the valve orifice should be optimized when designing artificial heart valves.