Date of Award
Summer 1972
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Biomedical Engineering
First Advisor
Horgan, James D.
Second Advisor
Linehan, John
Third Advisor
Sedivy, Jan
Abstract
The movement of the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve has been recorded with the ultrasound echo technique. A need exists for a method in which ultrasound data can be used to produce a quantitative analysis of mitral valve dynamics. A model was designed and built to simulate the relative motion between pertinent cardiac structures and the ultrasound transducer. Canine mitral valves were mounted in the model and experiments were conducted to determine what effects the components of gross cardiac motion have on the shape of the echogram curve. The shape of the in vitro ultrasound curve was found to be altered when the magnitude of a properly timed gross motion component was changed. The anterior-posterior component was found to have the most effect on the shape of the echogram curve. The abrupt changes in the leaflet echogram are due to the motion of the leaflet relative to the mitral valve ring while the large gradual changes are due to the gross motion of the heart relative to the chest wall. It is concluded that gross cardiac motion relative to the chest wall makes a significant contribution to the shape of the mitral valve anterior leaflet echogram. In addition, a quantitative assessment of the extent of contribution may be made when sufficient information is obtainable during an ultrasonic examination.