A novel video technique for visualizing flow structures in cardiovascular models

We describe a video system that produces good quality images of particle trajectories in seeded fluid flows. The operation of a liquid crystal optical shutter and a modified charge-coupled device (CCD) camera were synchronized to generate images of particle trajectories which were stored in a framegrabber before being transferred to S-VHS tape. The camera system is particularly appropriate for visualizing transient or unsteady flows in models of the cardiovascular system as the integration time may be varied to produce particle trajectories of variable length.