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Artif Organs 2019 Apr 18. Epub 2019 Apr 18.

Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.

In-vitro hemolysis testing remains one of the most important performance measures to judge the hemocompatibility of a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). Clinically relevant operating conditions and appropriate testing blood are essential to infer in-vitro data for potential clinical use. This in-vitro study was carried out to evaluate and compare the hemolytic performance of a newly developed magnetically levitated (maglev) LVAD (CH-VAD) with two clinically used LVADs (HVAD and HeartMate II) using fresh human blood. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Apr 19. Epub 2019 Apr 19.

Department of Surgery, Division of Transplant Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA.

Long waiting times for kidney transplant and the high risk of mortality on dialysis have prompted investigation into strategies to utilize Hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected organs to decrease discard rates of potentially viable kidneys. Due the opioid epidemic, the number of HCV-infected donors has increased significantly. With the development of direct-acting antiviral therapies for HCV infection, now more than 95% of patients who received treatment are cured. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Apr 10. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

Henan Institute of Haematology, Department of Hematology, Henan Cancer Hospital, The Affliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.

Objective: This study aims to review the clinical efficacy and factors affecting the treatment of multiple myeloma (MM) by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (ASCT).

Methods: The clinical data of 47 patients with MM from the Department of Hematology of Henan Cancer Hospital from September 2010 to July 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: At pre-transplantation of autologous cells, 25. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.

The PI3K/Akt signaling pathway has been implicated in playing an important role in platelet activation during hemostasis and thrombosis involving platelet-matrix interaction and platelet aggregation. Its role in non-physiological shear stress (NPSS)-induced platelet activation relevant to high-shear blood contacting medical devices (BCMDs) is unclear. In the context of blood cells flowing in BCMDs, platelets are subjected to NPSS (>100 Pa) with very short exposure time (<1 sec). Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Apr 9. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

Chromogenic anti-Xa assays for unfractionated heparin monitoring (heparin activity) are susceptible to interference from hemolysis and icterus. The purpose of this study was to better understand the effect of hemolysis and icterus on anti-Xa heparin activity and to predict the magnitude of the error. Increasing levels of hemoglobin and unconjugated bilirubin were added to pooled normal plasma or buffer containing known levels of heparin. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Apr;43(4):435

Artif Organs 2019 Apr;43(4):336-341

State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.

Artif Organs 2019 Apr;43(4):E53-E75

Artif Organs 2019 Apr 2. Epub 2019 Apr 2.

Fresenius Medical Care Deutschland GmbH, Else-Kröner-Strasse 1, 61352, Bad Homburg, Germany.

In standard care, hemodialysis patients are often treated with a center-specific fixed dialysate sodium concentration, potentially resulting in diffusive sodium changes for patients with plasma sodium concentrations below or above this level. While diffusive sodium load may be associated with thirst and higher interdialytic weight gain, excessive diffusive sodium removal may cause intradialytic symptoms. In contrast, the new hemodialysis machine option "Na control" provides automated individualization of dialysate sodium during treatment with the aim to reduce such intradialytic sodium changes without the need to determine the plasma sodium concentration. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Apr 1. Epub 2019 Apr 1.

Department of Nephrology, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.

Objective: Coronary artery calcifications (CACs) are common among maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients and associated with increased morbidity and mortality due to cardiovascular events. The insight into chronic kidney disease-mineral and bone disorder established a correlation between dysregulated mineral metabolism and CACs. This study aimed to identify the association of mineral content outside of bone (MCOB) with CACs and cardiovascular events in MHD patients. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 27. Epub 2019 Mar 27.

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Koç University, Sarıyer, Istanbul, Turkey.

In a typical open-heart surgery, the blood flow through the aortic cannula is a critical element of the cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) procedure. Especially for the neonatal and pediatric CPB flow conditions, the need for small hydraulic diameter and large blood flow results confined turbulent jet flow regimes that exacerbate blood damage and platelet activation. Simultaneously, the confined jet wake leads to complex stagnation and recirculating flows that cause considerable thrombosis, blood and endothelial cell damage through the aorta. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Apr 25;43(4):329-333. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Department of Pediatrics, Surgery, and Bioengineering, Penn State Pediatric Cardiovascular Research Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Health Children's Hospital, Hershey, PA, USA.

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 25. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

Texas HemoBioTherapeutics & BioInnovation Center, Lubbock, Texas.

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 22. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 22. Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 19. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Division of Cardiac Surgery, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 20. Epub 2019 Mar 20.

Department of Artificial Organs, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Osaka, Japan.

Background: We developed a novel miniaturized extracorporeal centrifugal pump ''BIOFLOAT NCVC (Nipro Co., Ltd., Osaka, Japan)'' as a ventricular assist device (VAD) and performed a preclinical study that is part of the process for its approval as a bridge to decision by the pharmaceutical and medical device agencies. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Mar;43(3):322-323

Artif Organs 2019 Apr 18;43(4):334-335. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Biomedical Technology Wing, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, India.

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 13. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, University of Padova, Italy.

Male urinary incontinence is highly prevalent, leading to a miserable quality of life. The Artificial Urinary Sphincter (AUS) is the device that closely simulates the function of the biological urinary sphincter. The precise evaluation of occlusion mechanisms and of interaction phenomena occurring between AUS cuff and urethral duct is fundamental for a more reliable design. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 13. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Department of Pharmacy Services, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina.

Continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement has become a standard of care in advanced heart failure treatment. Bleeding is the most frequently reported adverse event after LVAD implantation and may be increased by antithrombotic agents used for prevention of pump thrombosis. This retrospective cohort included 85 adult patients implanted with a Heartmate II LVAD. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 13. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia.

The high cost of ventricular assist devices results in poor cost-effectiveness when used as a short-term bridging solution, thus a low-cost alternative is desirable. The present study aimed to develop an intraventricular balloon pump (IVBP) for short-term circulatory support, and to evaluate the effect of balloon actuation timing on the degree of cardiac support provided to a simulated in vitro severe heart failure (SHF) patient. A silicone IVBP was designed to avoid contact with internal left ventricular (LV) features (ie, papillary muscles, chordae, aortic, and mitral valves) based on LV computed tomography data of 10 SHF patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Feb 28. Epub 2019 Feb 28.

Nephrology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.

In patients with enhanced risk for bleeding, heparin-free hemodialysis (HD) with conventional dialyzers is routinely used. To explore the potential benefit of using heparin-coated dialyzers, we used a reference CT-scanning technique and registered different clotting parameters to quantify coagulation with heparin-coated versus non-coated dialyzers. Six HD patients with thrombocytopenia were dialyzed 240 min in a randomized crossover study with Evodial 1. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Feb 27. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Division of Infectious Diseases, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Infection remains the Achilles heel of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy. However, an optimal antimicrobial surgical infection prophylaxis (SIP) regimen has not been established. This study evaluated the efficacy of a single-drug SIP compared to a multi-drug SIP on clinical outcomes in patients undergoing continuous-flow LVAD (CF-LVAD) and pulsatile LVAD (P-LVAD) implantation. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Feb 25. Epub 2019 Feb 25.

Department of Surgery, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Thrombotic and bleeding complications are the major obstacles for expanding mechanical circulatory support (MCS) beyond the current use. While providing the needed hemodynamic support, those devices can induce damage to blood, particularly to platelets. In this study, we investigated device-induced alteration of three major platelet surface receptors, von Willebrand factor (VWF) and associated hemostatic functions relevant to thrombosis and bleeding. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Feb 25. Epub 2019 Feb 25.

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Pekan, Malaysia.

The mismatch between stiffness of the femoral dense stem and host bone causes complications to patients, such as aseptic loosening and bone resorption. Three-dimensional finite-element models of homogeneous porous (HGP) and functionally graded porous (FGP) stems incorporating body-centered cubic (BCC) structures are proposed in this article as an alternative to the dense stems. The relationship between the porosity and strut thickness of the BCC structure was developed to construct the finite-element models. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Feb 21. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Department of Pediatrics, Penn State Health Pediatric Cardiovascular Research Center, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Health Children's Hospital, Hershey, PA, USA.

The objective of this translational study was to evaluate the FDA-approved PediMag, CentriMag, and RotaFlow centrifugal blood pumps in terms of hemodynamic performance using simulated neonatal and pediatric extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) circuits with different sizes of arterial and venous cannulae. Cost of disposable pump heads was another important variable for this particular study. The experimental circuit was composed of one of the centrifugal pump heads, a polymethylpentene membrane oxygenator, neonatal and pediatric arterial/venous cannulae, and 1/4-inch ID tubing. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 21;43(3):215-216. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO.

Artif Organs 2019 Feb 20. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Teikyo University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Artif Organs 2019 Feb;43(2):207-208

Artif Organs 2019 Feb 19. Epub 2019 Feb 19.

Department of Animal Sciences, Federal Rural University of Semiarid Region (UFERSA), Mossoró, Brazil.

A titanium surface nitrided by plasma contains nitrogen ions that guarantee resistance to corrosion and biocompatibility. Despite this, no descriptions concerning the influence of the expression of cell adhesion proteins and their influence on osteogenic cell differentiation are available. Thus, the present study aimed to assess the response of murine pre-osteoblastic cells (MC3T3-E1) cultured on nitrided titanium surfaces. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Feb 11. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, St. Anne´s Faculty Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic.

There is ample evidence that maintenance of basic physical fitness through exercise training is crucial for patients with chronic renal insufficiency. Rehabilitation based on neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) of thigh muscles has been shown to have many beneficial effects in patients with chronic diseases. It is likely that NMES could have beneficial effects also in patients on chronic ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Division of Cardiology, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York.

The clinical significance of positive anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) antibody tests in recipients of left ventricular assist devices remains unclear. In light of emerging evidence suggesting the possibility of persistent low-level HCV infection in patients with positive anti-HCV antibody test but negative HCV ribonucleic acid, it is very important to distinguish the truly false positive HCV antibodies, in recipients of continuous flow left ventricular assist devices, from those suggestive of a prior clinically resolved infection or one where a low-level viremia may have persisted. We conducted a retrospective analysis of left ventricular assist device recipients at our institution. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Jan 31. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Medical Intensive Care Unit, Department of Medicine, University Hospital of Liège, Liège, Belgium.

Low flow extracorporeal veno-venous CO removal (ECCO R) therapy is used to remove CO while reducing ventilation intensity. However, the use of this technique is limited because efficiency of CO removal and potential beneficial effects on pulmonary hemodynamics are not precisely established. Moreover, this technique requires anticoagulation that may induce severe complications in critically ill patients. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Jan 30. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

The results of neonatal aortic arch surgery using cerebro-myocardial perfusion were analyzed. Selective cerebral and myocardial perfusion, using two separate pump rotors, was compared with standard perfusion, using a single pump rotor with an arterial line Y-connector. Between May 2008 and May 2016, 69 consecutive neonates underwent arch repair using either selective cerebro-myocardial perfusion (Group A, n = 34) or standard perfusion (Group B, n = 35). Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Jan 30. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan.

In earlier studies, we developed in vivo tissue-engineered, autologous, small-caliber vascular grafts, called "biotubes," which withstand systemic blood pressure and exhibit excellent performance as small-caliber vascular prostheses in animal models. However, biotube preparation takes 4 weeks; therefore, biotubes cannot be applied in emergency situations. Moreover, for responses to various types of surgery, grafts should ideally be readily available in advance. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Jan;43(1):97-98

Artif Organs 2019 Feb 28;43(2):105-108. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Mayfield Heights, Ohio.

Artif Organs 2019 Mar 27;43(3):288-317. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

Artificial Organs Editorial Office, Painesville, Ohio.

In this Editor's Review, articles published in 2018 are organized by category and summarized. We provide a brief reflection of the research and progress in artificial organs intended to advance and better human life while providing insight for continued application of these technologies and methods. Artificial Organs continues in the original mission of its founders "to foster communications in the field of artificial organs on an international level. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Jan 23. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

An electrical stimulus is a new approach to neural differentiation of stem cells. In this work, the neural differentiation of conjunctiva mesenchymal stem cells (CJMSCs) on a new 3D conductive fibrous scaffold of silk fibroin (SF) and reduced graphene oxide (rGo) were examined. rGo (3. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Jan 23. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.

Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) is often used to support patients in decompensated heart failure. Placement of the IABP via the axillary artery facilitates long-term support with the device and may allow for the conversion of an acute heart failure (HF) patient into a chronic HF patient using a modified weaning protocol; allowing for medical symptom management and removal of mechanical support. We will discuss strategies for supporting these complicated patients. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Jan 17. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

Biofluid Mechanics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA.

Two limitations have been discovered in the derivation of the Eulerian method of hemolysis prediction using a linearized blood damage function. First is that in the transformation from the Lagrangian material volume of the original power-law model to a fixed Eulerian control volume, the spatial dependence of duration of exposure to fluid stress was neglected. This omission has the implication that the Eulerian method as reported is valid only for steady, uniaxial flow in which velocity is constant along streamlines. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Jan 17. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

Center for Liver Cancer, National Cancer Center, Goyang-si, Korea.

Artif Organs 2019 Feb;43(2):109-118

CD Laboratory for the Restoration of Extremity Function, Department of Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Even though the hand comprises only 1% of our body weight, about 30% of our central nervous systems (CNS) capacity is related to its control. The loss of a hand thus presents not only the loss of the most important tool allowing us to interact with our environment, but also leaves a dramatic sensory-motor deficit that challenges our CNS. Reconstruction of hand function is therefore not only an essential part of restoring body integrity and functional wholeness but also closes the loop of our neural circuits diminishing phantom sensation and neural pain. Read More

Artif Organs 2019 Jan 14. Epub 2019 Jan 14.

Department of Cardiothoracic Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support, Royal Brompton & Harefield NHS Foundation Trust, Harefield Hospital, Harefield, United Kingdom.

Artif Organs 2019 Jan 4. Epub 2019 Jan 4.

Mechanical Circulatory Support Program, Emergency Cardiac Care, Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT, USA.

Artif Organs 2018 Dec 28. Epub 2018 Dec 28.

Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA.

Various risk models with differing discriminatory power and predictive accuracy have been used to predict right ventricular failure (RVF) after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) placement. There remains an unmet need for a contemporary risk score for continuous flow (CF)-LVADs. We sought to independently validate and compare existing risk models in a large cohort of patients and develop a simple, yet highly predictive risk score for acute, severe RVF. Read More

Artif Organs 2018 Dec 27. Epub 2018 Dec 27.

Department of Cardiopulmonary Bypass, Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Science and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

The aim of the study was to investigate whether processing residual pump blood with ultrafiltration could increase the increment of hemoglobin after residual pump blood reinfusion and evaluate its influence on plasma-free hemoglobin (pFHb) level and postoperative renal function. Sixty adult patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass were assigned to 2 groups, based on pump blood processing strategy: ultrafiltration plus reinfusion (n = 30) or reinfusion (control; n = 30). Increment in hemoglobin and pFHb after reinfusion (ΔHgb, ΔpFHb), reinfusion volume, postoperative chest drainage volume (first 24 h), duration of mechanical ventilation, changes in serum creatinine, and prevalence of AKI were compared between the 2 groups. Read More

Artif Organs 2018 Dec 27. Epub 2018 Dec 27.

Penn State Health Pediatric Cardiovascular Research Center, Department of Pediatrics, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Health Children's Hospital, Hershey, PA, USA.

The objective of this study was to do an in vitro evaluation of venous line pressure using different venous line lengths and venous cannula sizes in pediatric venoarterial extracorporeal life support (VA-ECLS) and venovenous ECLS (VV-ECLS) circuits. The pediatric VA-ECLS circuit consisted of a Xenios i-cor diagonal pump, a Maquet Quadrox-i pediatric oxygenator, a Medtronic Biomedicus arterial cannula, a Biomedicus venous cannula, and 1/4″ ID arterial and venous tubing. The pediatric VV-ECLS circuit was similar, except it included a Maquet Avalon ELITE bi-caval dual lumen cannula. Read More

Artif Organs 2018 Dec 27. Epub 2018 Dec 27.

Med. Klinik und Poliklinik II-Kardiologie, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Endoluminal left atrial appendage occlusion is an emerging therapy to treat patients suffering from atrial fibrillation with contraindications against oral anticoagulation. Different occlusion devices have been introduced into the clinical setting while comparative studies between the devices are sparse. This in vitro study compares several endoluminal left atrial appendage occlusion systems regarding 2 mechanical properties: radial (RF) and tug force (TF). Read More