Effects of electrocautery to provoke endovascular thermal injury.

Purpose: To investigate the effects of a new electrocautery device to provoke endovascular venous thermal injury.

Methods: An experimental endovascular electrocautery was placed inside eight ex-vivo bovine saphenous veins models. Each one was divided in eight segments and progressive intensities of electric energy liberated.

Mock circulatory system for the evaluation of left ventricular assist devices, endoluminal prostheses, and vascular diseases.

A new digital computer mock circulatory system has been developed in order to replicate the physiologic and pathophysiologic characteristics of the human cardiovascular system. The computer performs the acquisition of pressure, flow, and temperature in an open loop system. A computer program has been developed in Labview programming environment to evaluate all these physical parameters.