Effect of aortic valve orientation on arterial flow distribution.

This short note presents the results from experiments performed on an artificial heart valve, in particular, the aortic valve located at the exit of the left ventricle of the heart. The valve was tested in a full-scale elastic model of the arterial system, with a cam-piston unit duplicating the pumping action of the heart. The dependence of the arterial flow distribution on the angular orientation of the valve was investigated and it was found that there was no discernible influence of valve orientation on the arterial flow distribution.