Jet Vectoring using Asymmetric Prosthetic Heart Valve Design

Previous work has shown that asymmetric nozzle openings can change the direction of the emerging flow. The flow direction can be altered in a similar way through carefully varying the properties of multi-leaflet prosthetic heart valves. The leaflets can be customized by changing their thickness, stiffness, or geometry. We show how altering these leaflet properties affect the opening asymmetry. We further show the effects of resulting asymmetric opening on the flow emerging from the multi-leaflet valve. We expect the capability to control the flow direction in the context of multi-leaflet valve will allow us to develop a patient specific heart valves that can direct the flow most natural to individual patient’s circulatory system.