A silicone venous valve model for visualization and characterization of the effect of valve morphology on valve and flow behavior

Venous valves play a vital role in returning blood to the heart from the lower extremities. They open and close due to pressure oscillations from skeletal muscle contraction to drive flow toward the heart against the pull of gravity. Venous valves are also the typical origination location of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which encompasses both deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE) and represents a leading cause of death in the United States. In this study, we demonstrate a silicone venous valve model and use it to experimentally study the effect of valve morphology on flow conditions in the venous valve sinus. We visualize and characterize valve and flow behavior to move toward an understanding of how patient valve morphology affects their risk level for the development of VTE.