Coronary Connector Facilitated Total Endoscopic Coronary Artery Bypass: An Ex Vivo Feasibility Study.

Objective: Totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass (TECAB) procedures pose significant challenges, motivating the development of Octocon, an automated endoscopic connector designed for coronary anastomoses in off-pump and endoscopic settings. This feasibility study aimed to assess Octocon's functionality and maneuverability in closed-chest conditions during robot-assisted TECAB simulations.

Methods: The Octocon deployment comprises a 3-step procedure.

Cost Analysis of Robot-Assisted Versus On-Pump and Off-Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Single-Center Surgical and 30-Day Outcomes Comparison.

Objective: Throughout Europe, the interest in implementing robot-assisted minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (RA-MIDCAB) has been growing. However, concerns about additional costs have emerged concurrently. In this analysis, we aim to provide a comparison of the cumulative perioperative costs of RA-MIDCAB, on-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), and off-pump CABG (OPCAB).

Medium and long-term patency results of distal anastomosis connectors: a meta-analysis.

Background: The difficulty of suturing perfect anastomoses in limited-access conditions prevents the transition of traditional coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) to sternal-sparing approaches, even in the robotic era. Automated coronary anastomotic connector technologies may address these difficulties, but to date, none have achieved broad adoption. Besides versatility, ease-of-use and cost-effectiveness, the key performance parameter of such technology is anastomotic patency.

Diagnostic Accuracy of an Algorithm for Discriminating Presumed Solid and Gaseous Microembolic Signals During Transcranial Doppler Examinations.

Objective: The aim of the work described here was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a new algorithm (SGA-a) for time-domain analysis of transcranial Doppler audio signals to discriminate presumed solid and gaseous microembolic signals and artifacts (SGAs).

Methods: SGA-a was validated by human experts in an artifact cohort of 20 patients subjected to a 1-h transcranial Doppler exam before cardiac surgery (cohort 1). Emboli were validated in a cohort of 10 patients after aortic valve replacement in a 4-h monitoring period (cohort 2).

Cyclic strain has antifibrotic effects on the human cardiac fibroblast transcriptome in a human cardiac fibrosis-on-a-chip platform.

In cardiac fibrosis, in response to stress or injury, cardiac fibroblasts deposit excessive amounts of collagens which contribute to the development of heart failure. The biochemical stimuli in this process have been extensively studied, but the influence of cyclic deformation on the fibrogenic behavior of cardiac fibroblasts in the ever-beating heart is not fully understood. In fact, most investigated mechanotransduction pathways in cardiac fibroblasts seem to ultimately have profibrotic effects, which leaves an important question in cardiac fibrosis research unanswered: how do cardiac fibroblasts stay quiescent in the ever-beating human heart? In this study, we developed a human cardiac fibrosis-on-a-chip platform and utilized it to investigate if and how cyclic strain affects fibrogenic signaling.