In vitro study of downstream flow passing through heart valve prostheses

The left ventricular filling flow is now considered as an indicator which can be used for early diagnosing of cardiovascular diseases. Because the understanding of left ventricular flow physics is critical for this purpose, the downstream flow characteristics of the artificial heart valve are investigated using particle image velocimetry (PIV) method. In this study, we investigated the wake characteristics of flows passing through three different artificial valves (St.Jude medical bileaflet mechanical valve. Bjork-Shiley monostrut mechanical valve and St.Jude medical Biocor bio valve). The downstream flow field has remarkably altered according to the different valves. SJM MHV has the flow field similar to the pulsating circular jet and BS MHV has oblique pulsating jet. SJM BHV shows the similar flow field of clinical data of normal heart.