A bioartificial ventricle used as a totally implantable circulatory assist device

The authors designed a totally implantable circulatory assist device consisting of a bioartificial ventricle composed of a skeletal muscle ventricle lined with a bioartificial endocardium. The bioartificial endocardium consists of a structural matrix made of a polyurethane porous membrane, fragmented blood vessels, and collagen gel. The authors prepared the polyurethane porous membrane by solvent cocasting with salt powder. They used collagen gel with fragmented goat carotid vein to perform in vitro construction of the bioartificial endocardium. For in vivo construction of the bioartificial endocardium, the authors used a modified version of the tissue fragment method for vascular prostheses. The authors prepared suspensions of tissue fragments using collagen gel with fragmented goat carotid artery. They used a highly porous fabric vascular prosthesis as a structural matrix; tissue fragments were entrapped on the outer surface of the prosthesis, and the prosthesis then was implanted into the carotid artery of four adult goats. In specimens 1 and 3 months postimplantation, cells from the fragmented tissue regenerated an endothelium-like monolayer sheet on the inner surface of the prostheses. Output of a prototype bioartificial ventricle reached 660 ml/min at an afterload of 60 mmHg and a preload of 20 mmHg. Based on these data, the authors conclude that the bioartificial ventricle is promising as an implantable device with excellent antithrombogenicity.