Hemocompatibility Evaluation of a Novel Ambulatory Pulmonary Assist System Using a Lightweight Axial-Flow Pump

Yeahwa Hong; Suji Shin; Umar Nasim; Kalliope G Roberts; Alexander S Potchernikov; Kimberly Y Liu; Keith A Dufendach; David J Skoog; Matthew Bacchetta; Keith E Cook

doi:10.1097/MAT.0000000000002227

Hemocompatibility Evaluation of a Novel Ambulatory Pulmonary Assist System Using a Lightweight Axial-Flow Pump

ASAIO J. 2024 May 13. doi: 10.1097/MAT.0000000000002227. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ From the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
² Surgery.
³ Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
⁴ Advanced Respiratory Technologies, Inc, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
⁵ Cardiac Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.

PMID: 38728744
DOI: 10.1097/MAT.0000000000002227

Abstract

The Pulmonary Assist System (PAS) is currently under development as a wearable respiratory assist system. In this study, the hemocompatibility of the PAS's axial-flow mechanical pump (AFP) was compared to other contemporary mechanical pumps in an acute ovine model. The PAS was attached to a normal sheep in a venovenous configuration using one of three pumps: 1) AFP, 2) ReliantHeart HeartAssist 5 (control), or 3) Abbott Pedimag (control) (n = 5 each). Each sheep was supported on the PAS for 12 hours with two L/minute of blood flow and four L/minute of sweep gas. Hemolysis, coagulation, inflammation, and platelet activation and loss were compared among the groups. In this study, the plasma-free hemoglobin (pfHb) was less than 10 mg/dl in all groups. The pfHb was significantly lower in the AFP group compared to other groups. There was no significant clot formation in the pumps and oxygenators in all groups. Furthermore, no significant differences in coagulation (oxygenator resistance, fibrinopeptide A), inflammation (white blood cell counts, IL-8), and platelet activation and loss (p-selectin, platelet counts) were observed among the groups (all, p > 0.05). This study demonstrates equivalent hemocompatibility of the PAS's AFP to other contemporary mechanical pumps with a reduced level of hemolysis on startup.