Long-term in vivo performance of silicone membrane lungs coated with novel methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine polymers: A pilot study.

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the long-term durability, oxygenation, and pressure loss of newly developed, methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine (MPC)-polymer-coated, nonporous silicone hollow fiber-membrane lungs in vivo using a pulmonary artery-to-left-atrium paracorporeal configuration.

Methods: An extracorporeal circuit from the pulmonary artery (device inflow) to the left atrium (device outflow) was established using dedicated composite vascular grafts in three healthy female goats for the prototype lung testing.

Results: Duration of testing the prototype lungs was 52, 57, or 100 days.

Japanese registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support: First report.

Background: In Japan, ventricular assist devices (VADs) have been used for patients with severe heart failure as a bridge to transplantation (BTT) since 1992. However, it was not until 1997, when the Organ Transplant Law was enacted, that medical devices received approval by the national health insurance system for that use. To encourage research and development of innovative medical devices, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency has established a public-private partnership in collaboration with academic societies, hospitals and manufacturers.

Clinical Application of a Newly Developed Autoflow Control System for the Terumo Centrifugal Pump: From External Control to Built-in Direct Control.

We have developed an autoflow control system for the Terumo Capiox centrifugal pump, the SP-101. First, we made an external control system regulated by a personal computer through a serial communications line. Although an in vivo experiment using a goat showed excellent performance in regulating the flow, a communication error that caused an abrupt and instantaneous flow fluctuation was noted occasionally.