Accelerated heart valve testing apparatus and methods

Details Accelerated heart valve testing apparatus and methods Accelerated heart valve testing apparatus and methods

1984-08-17

1985-10-15

Levy, Stewart J.

Measuring and testing

With fluid pressure

Dimension, shape, or size

73168, 73812, G01N 336

Patent

active

045466424

ABSTRACT:
Apparatus and methods for durability (fatigue) testing of prosthetic heart valves or other check valves. The apparatus is circular in plan and includes a test fixture in which the valves are circularly arranged, located with communicating passages, such passages communicating with bellows closed at one end. The bellows are carried by a swash plate journalled to a motor by a coupling providing an adjustable tilt axis. The tilt axis determines the amplitude of the motion or flow of the fluid, as the bellows alternately expand and contract. A central bypass chamber includes orifices which are selectively varied in effective cross section to control an amount of the test fluid which bypasses the test samples, thereby determining fluid pressure differential across the sample valves. Fluid in the apparatus can be heated by an electric heater to temperatures similar to human blood, a temperature probe monitoring the temperature for its control. A pressure tap monitors the fluid pressure for shutting down the apparatus if abnormal pressures or leaks are developed. Several prosthetic heart valves, e.g., two, four, six, eight, etc., are held by the fixture at the same time for life testing at relatively high cyclic rates.

REFERENCES:
patent: 4381663 (1983-05-01), Swanson
patent: 4450710 (1984-05-01), Nettekoven

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