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This term is used to describe a heart simulator for investigating the flow characteristics of blood within the heart, particularly for evaluating the performance of Artificial heart valves. Flow conditions are simulated in a Perspex model made from a mould of the inside of a cadaver heart and a blood-equivalent mixture is pumped with a pressure cycle similar to that found in normal conditions. Artificial heart valves may be mounted at the normal sites in the model and flow may be monitored using high-speed photography of small particles suspended in the fluid. Pressure measurements may also be recorded.
Such devices would only be found in a cardiac research laboratory.
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