Computational biomechanics of the aortic root

The aortic valve and root perform extremely sophisticated functions that are critically dependent on their topology as well as the structure of their component parts at tissue, cellular and molecular levels . Each of these components is capable of changing its size and shape during different phases of the cardiac cycle . Computational biomechanics offers unique opportunities to study many of these functions in humans. Rapid progress in this field has resulted in the accumulation of a large amount of knowledge relating to this topic. We here describe the application of biomechanics to the study of the aortic root in health and disease as well as following different types of valve preserving and aortic root replacement using biological valves.