Indirect Burst Pressure Measurements for the Mechanical Assessment of Biological Vessels

Vascular tissue engineering (VTE) is a rapidly expanding field, with numerous approaches being explored both in preclinical and clinical settings. A pivotal factor in the development of VTE techniques is patient safety, notably with respect to the mechanical properties of the vessels. Of the mechanical properties, the bursting strength, representing the ability of a vessel to withstand the forces exerted on it by blood pressure, is the most important. The burst pressure is commonly assessed using one of three methods proposed by the ISO 7198. In this study, we evaluate the three burst pressure assessment methods exactly as they are presently in the field of VTE. We show that the indirect assessment methods, as they are presently used, provide inconsistent and therefore unreliable estimates of the true yield stress of a vessel.