Toward patient-specific simulations of cardiac valves: State-of-the-art and future directions

Recent computational methods enabling patient-specific simulations of native and prosthetic heart valves are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on two critical components of such methods: (1) anatomically realistic finite element models for simulating the structural dynamics of heart valves; and (2) fluid structure interaction methods for simulating the performance of heart valves in a patient-specific beating left ventricle. It is shown that the significant progress achieved in both fronts paves the way toward clinically relevant computational models that can simulate the performance of a range of heart valves, native and prosthetic, in a patient-specific left heart environment. The significant algorithmic and model validation challenges that need to be tackled in the future to realize this goal are also discussed. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.