A Lagrangian investigation of the flow inside the left ventricle

A laboratory model reproducing the main characteristics of the heart pump was used to investigate the flow in a ventricle model during a cardiac cycle. Velocity fields were measured both in Lagrangian and Eulerian frames of reference by using image analysis. In particular, by imaging the flow field from two orthogonal views, we were able to verify the asymmetric structure of the ventricular filling. The flow features were investigated considering Lagrangian based methodologies: Finite Time and Finite Size Lyapunov Exponents were evaluated to assess Lagrangian Coherent Structure time evolution and flow dispersion properties, respectively. These quantities have proven to be powerful tools to elucidate the complex dynamics associated with the intraventricular flow.