Planar Biaxial Testing of Heart Valve Cusp Replacement Biomaterials: Experiments, Theory, and Material Constants

Planar biaxial mechanical testing was conducted using a CellScale BioTester system to apply controlled orthogonal tensile displacements to native valve leaflets and cusp replacement biomaterials. The CellScale device enabled precise displacement-controlled loading across multiple biaxial protocols while maintaining tissue hydration and temperature control, allowing robust measurement of anisotropic stress–strain behavior. Integrated imaging and custom data processing supported accurate strain calculation and material parameter identification. CellScale biaxial testing was central to establishing mechanical equivalence between replacement patches and native valve tissue, directly informing material selection strategies for aortic valve repair.