Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs) are lifesaving alternatives for patients with heart failure. The design of pediatric VADs is specially challenging due to size variability in children and higher beating rates of operation compared to adults. The fluid flow behavior in VADs is considered a main determinant of thrombogenesis and hemolysis. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is an optical technique largely applied to investigate fluid flow making it possible to measure velocities and related properties. Classically, the visualization of particles that follow flow movements requires a LASER source associated to high costs and recently the use of LED illumination have been proposed. In this study, we apply PIV with LED illumination to investigate vortex formation and determine shear stress in a pediatric VAD. Particle Image Velocimetry was applied to characterize the internal flow of a pulsatile pediatric VAD connected to a hydraulic simulator operating at physiological pressures and flow at 70 cycles per minute. A blood analog was seeded with particles and images were recorded by a high-speed camera using LED illumination. Areas of stasis and vortex formation and maximum turbulent Reynolds Shear Stress were determined at early filling, late filling, and early ejection times. A commercial software package and a custom Python code were utilized for analysis. The results obtained show high cross-correlation values, ranging mainly from 0.8 to 1, with areas of stasis and vortex formation in agreement with previous reported studies. The maximum turbulent Reynolds Shear Stress determined, 115.8 Pa, is lower than the threshold considered to cause hemolysis. Our results demonstrate the viability of applying the methodology developed to characterize flow behavior within a VAD with high spatial resolution using LED illumination.