Design a Heart Valve, Part 2:

Learning Objectives

Students should be able to:

• Describe the forces encountered in the human body to open and close aortic valves.

• Define Young's modulus and how it relates to the properties of valve tissues.

• Determine the Young's modulus for a material by calculating the materials' stress and strain and creating a stress vs. strain graph.

• Calculate Young's modulus for various materials and use the Young's modulus, stress and strain equations to calculate unknown values, such as force.

Introduction

At this point in the activity, you have learned all about the heart and have dissected a virtual heart. You have also researched the specific anatomy of aortic valves and how they function. 

Now, you need to focus on designing model heart valves. The materials you use for model heart valves need to represent the organic tissue that composes real heart valves, so first, it is important that you learn about how blood flows through the valves and the forces exerted on the valves, as well as the elasticity of the valves.

Remember the Challenge problem:

"You are a team of engineers for a bio-materials company that has a cardiovascular systems client who wants you to develop a model that can be used to test the properties of heart valves without using real specimens."

A) Learn some basic information about Forces, Elasticity, Stress, Strain and Young’s Modulus :  

• •  Learn more specific information about Forces, Elasticity, Stress, Strain, and Young’s Modulus   HERE. and complete the practice problem  see below "assignment 3"

Assignment 1:

• • On Google classroom with your group. Create a google doc and share it with your group. Collaborate in writing what important information have you gathered about Forces, Elasticity, Stress, Strain, and Young’s Modulus that can help you develop your design.

Assignments 2:

• Sketch the aorta leading away from the left ventricle of the heart. Label the direction of blood flow through the aorta. Add the location of the aortic valve to your sketch. Label it “aortic valve.” 

• Include labels 

• Include a written explanation of its functioning (use the vocabulary and concepts gathered in your research so far, Explain everything!) 

• Include a flow chart

• Attach your detailed sketches and explanation to this assignment

Remember the heart is a complex system composed of sub-systems, it performs a function that can be deconstructed into a series of steps.

Assignments 3:

• Complete the Young's Modulus practice exercise on Google Classroom