Visualisation of dynamic flow birefringence of cardiovascular models

In this paper, the method of dynamic flow birefringence (DFB) have been studied extensively under the consideration of an application to cardiovascular models. The method utilises the optical interference patterns observed in the birefringent flow for determination of the fluid shear stress and velocity distribution. In order to measure a flow in a cardiovascular model, an assumption of a simplified stress–optical relation in a pulsatile flow is suggested and special experimental techniques such as birefringent fluid for simulating blood and new experimental system have been developed. Application studies focus on pulsatile flows in typical models, namely arterial bifurcation and mechanical heart valves. Experimental results are discussed and compared with those of other researchers.