Numerical Simulator for Estimation of Mechanical Functions of Left Ventricle : 3rd Report, Stress Distribution in Left Ventricular Wall

Stress distributions in a canine left ventricular wall are simulated during one cardiac cycle by employing 3-dimensional finite element models developed in order to estimate the functions of the left ventricle. The appropriateness of the numerical simulator is examined by comparing the pressure volume relationships of the left ventricle computed by the present system with those obtained by the corresponding canine experiments. The initial geometry of the left ventricle is assumed to be a prolate spheroid in order to facilitate easy estimation of the complex computed numerical results. It is recognized that the distributions of the wall stress, e.g., the circumferential stress, near the equatorial surface are quite different from those of the thick cylinder subjected to the internal pressure and that the magnitudes and the directions of the principal stresses are closely related to both the contractility and the orientation of the myocardial muscle fiber.