Bovine pericardium has been widely used to construct the bioprosthetic leaflets for more than 25 years. It has been used as the valve replacement material owing to its good biocompatibility and hemodynamic performance [1]. It is well acknowledged that the acute and long-term performance of these bioprosthetic valves depends on the mechanical properties of the pericardium.
Pericardium is usually harvested in sterile solutions soon after they cut open through the animal body. During the fixation with gluteraldehyde, the tissue stabilizes and new cross links are formed, which essentially modifies its mechanical properties [2]. The effects of material properties on the mechanical behavior of pericardial bioprosthetic valve (PBV) has been studied either by considering elastic or hyperelastic material models, but a detailed comparison between elastic and hyperplastic leaflet on the mechanical performances of PBV is lacking.
To end this uniaxial tension test of bovine pericardium was performed...