CARDIOVASCULAR ENGINEERING Journal for Extracorporeal Circulation, Assist Devices,Transplantation and Artificial Organs
	Volume 1, 1996, No 1

Improving the Antithrombogenity of Artificial Surfaces through Heparin Coating - Clinical Experience with the Pneumatic Extracorporeal Berlin Heart Assist Device

F. Kaufmann, E. Hennig, M. Loebe, R. Hetzer

Abstract:
The blood’s coagulability has to be reduced during the use of artificial blood pumps. However, in order to limit such side effects as postoperative bleeding, coagulability cannot be completely suppressed. Thrombotic deposits can therefore develop on the artificial surfaces despite especially selected materials and elaborate manufacturing techniques. The blood contact surfaces can be coated with anticoagulative substances to reduce deposit thickness and frequency. The transparent housing of the Berlin Heart assist device’s extracorporeal blood pumps enable monitoring of the thrombotic deposits and quantifying them with a simple score system. As a rule thrombotic deposits develop earlier and more frequently in the "right" pump and are more pronounced than in the "left" pumps. They therefore have to be considered separately, thus yielding four groups: right and left pumps, coated or uncoated. Coating the blood pumps with heparin significantly reduced the thickness and degree of thrombotic deposits. The increase in deposits with regard to time is significantly reduced so that in individual cases support periods of over 230 days without clearly visible deposits have been achieved.

Keywords:
Mechanical cardiac support systems, anticoagulation, heparin coating

Address for Correspondence:

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