Wrinkled Vein Grafts Don’t Clot

Usually the veins  in bypass surgery come from the patient’s own leg veins, but sometimes that’s not an option. Synthetic vein grafts can be used but tend to develop clots more than do natural (donor) veins.  University of Pittsburgh researchers have hit upon an interesting strategy for reducing clot formation by wrinkling the vein and then straightening it out again.  Check out the bottom picture, there; it looks like an air-brushed playmate.

Top: A smooth surface after exposure to blood get fouled with platelets. Bottom: A surface that wrinkles while exposed to blood resists fouling.

Not bad. “Our arteries expand and contract naturally, partially driven by normal fluctuations in blood pressure during the cardiac cycle. Our hypothesis is that this drives the transition between smooth and wrinkled luminal surfaces in arteries, and this dynamic topography may be an important anti-thrombotic mechanism in arteries. Our goal is to use this novel concept of a purely mechanical approach to prevent vascular graft fouling by using the heartbeat as a driving mechanism.”

Homework:

Active wrinkles to drive self-cleaning: A strategy for anti-thrombotic surfaces for vascular grafts, LukaPocivavsek, Sang-HoYe,JosephPugar,  EdithTzeng, EnriqueCerda,   SachinVelankar,   William R.Wagner