An ex vivo original test using radiotracers for evaluating haemocompatibility of tubular biomaterials

The haemocompatibility of a vascular prosthesis can be estimated as the result of its interaction with blood components. The authors describe an ex vivo canine shunt for evaluating isotopic haemocompatibility in blood-wall interactions. Methods employing radioisotopic tracers can be used to dynamically monitor the adsorption of labelled blood cells and proteins on different biomaterial surfaces. This ex vivo test should enable materials to be assessed for quality according to two thrombogenic criteria: (i) number of adhered platelets mm-2 s-1; (ii) quantity of adsorbed fibrinogen expressed as microgram mm-2 s-1, which would provide the basis for a scale of haemocompatibility.