Pulsatile in vitro flow tests are reported on a Björk-Shiley conduit disc valve and a prototype ball valve conduit, both used as replacements for the aortic valve and ascending aorta. Comparison is made with a model of the aortic stenosis which the conduits would be used to replace. It is found that although the ball valve is considerably better than the disc valve, in terms of pressure drop and power loss for a given cardiac output, both prostheses offer large improvements on the stenotic situation.
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