In Vitro Evaluation of the Fresenius Kabi CATSmart Autotransfusion System

Area of Science:

• Transfusion Medicine
• Surgical Hemostasis
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Autotransfusion systems are vital for managing intraoperative blood loss, mitigating postoperative anemia, and reducing reliance on donor blood.
• Evaluating new autotransfusion technologies against established systems is crucial for clinical adoption and patient safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the performance of the CATSmart Continuous Autotransfusion System's wash program across various shed blood volumes (200 mL, 700 mL, 1000 mL).
• To establish the non-inferiority of the CATSmart system compared to the established C.A.T.S system.

Main Methods:

• Human whole blood was collected, diluted, and processed in pairs using both CATSmart and C.A.T.S systems with specified wash programs (low-volume, high quality/smart, emergency).
• Analysis of the final packed red blood cell product included red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell, and platelet counts, hemoglobin, hemolysis, RBC recovery, and elimination of albumin, total protein, and potassium.

Main Results:

• Both systems yielded high hematocrit (HCT) levels (CATSmart: 59.63%, C.A.T.S: 57.71%) and comparable RBC recovery rates (CATSmart: 85.41%, C.A.T.S: 84.99%).
• Excellent elimination of albumin (≥97.5%), total proteins (≥97.1%), and potassium (≥91.9%) was achieved by both systems.
• The CATSmart system demonstrated non-inferior performance to the C.A.T.S system across all tested parameters and volumes.

Conclusions:

• The CATSmart Continuous Autotransfusion System provides a high-quality packed red blood cell product comparable to the C.A.T.S system.
• The CATSmart system is a viable and effective alternative for intraoperative autotransfusion, supporting reduced transfusion needs.