Authors:

Jarrett Fowler

Date Created:

Not specified

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Professor:

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About Paper:

Atherosclerosis, a plaque build-up in vessels, often leads to cardiovascular dysfunction, including heart attacks, strokes, and ischemia, and contributes to over 700,000 deaths annually in the US. One treatment option for narrowed arteries involves surgically opening the artery and removing the plaque, after which a vascular patch may be applied to assist with vessel closure and reducing restenosis rates. Standard patches (e.g., bovine pericardium, and Dacron) are recognized as foreign materials and lack regenerative capabilities, leading to post-surgical complications. Therefore, new therapeutic options are needed that will reliably support the restoration of vascular structure and function while minimizing post-surgical bleeding, infection, arterial restenosis and occlusion, and aneurysm formation. Our proposed solution represents a vascular patch made of engineered polymeric collagen material that possesses regenerative capabilities without inducing undesirable inflammatory responses and supports the customization of microstructural and mechanical characteristics. As a first step, two collagen patch materials were fabricated using compression densification at varied strain rates to yield different fibrillar microstructures. Patches were then evaluated and compared based on tensile strength, Young's modulus, and suture retention strength. Finally, patches were sutured into a porcine carotid artery within a continuous flow loop to test burst strength and characterize patch performance under constant pressures. Results showed that patch mechanical properties and performance were highly dependent on fibrillar microstructure, verifying the significance of this criterion in vascular patch design. These studies represent an important step toward the engineering of next-generation vascular patches and replacements to restore vascular structure and function.

Source:

Purdue University / 2023

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Jarrett Fowler