Unsteady fluid dynamics of several mechanical prosthetic heart valves using a two component laser Doppler anemometer system.

Five typical mechanical heart valves (Starr-Edwards, Björk-Shiley convexo-concave (c-c), Björk-Shiley monostrut, Bicer-Val, and St. Jude Medical) were tested in the mitral position under the pulsatile flow condition. The test program included measurements of velocity and turbulent stresses at 5 downstream locations. The study was carried out using a sophisticated cardiac simulator in conjunction with a highly sensitive 2 component laser Doppler anemometer (LDA) system. The continuous monitoring of parametric time histories revealed useful details about the complex flow and helped to establish the locations and times of the peak parameter values. Based upon the nondimensional presentation of data, the following general conclusions can be made. First, all the 5 valve designs created elevated turbulent stresses during the accelerating and peak flow phases, presenting the possibility of thromboembolism and perhaps hemolysis. Second, the difference in valve configuration seemed to affect the flow characteristics; third, the bileaflet design of the St. Jude valve appeared to create a lower turbulence stress level.