Development of a clot-adhesive coating to improve the performance of thrombectomy devices.

BACKGROUND: The first-pass complete recanalization by mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for the treatment of stroke remains limited due to the poor integration of the clot within current devices. Aspiration can help retrieval of the main clot but fails to prevent secondary embolism in the distal arterial territory. The dense meshes of extracellular DNA, recently described in stroke-related clots, might serve as an anchoring platform for MT devices. We aimed to evaluate the potential of a DNA-reacting surface to aid the retention of both the main clot and small fragments within the thrombectomy device to improve the potential of MT procedures. METHODS: Device-suitable alloy samples were coated with 15 different compounds and put in contact with extracellular DNA or with human peripheral whole blood, to compare their binding to DNA versus blood elements in vitro. Clinical-grade MT devices were coated with two selected compounds and evaluated in functional bench tests to study clot retrieval efficacy and quantify distal emboli using an M1 occlusion model. RESULTS: Binding properties of samples coated with all compounds were increased for DNA (≈3-fold) and decreased (≈5-fold) for blood elements, as compared with the bare alloy samples in vitro. Functional testing showed that surface modification with DNA-binding compounds improved clot retrieval and significantly reduced distal emboli during experimental MT of large vessel occlusion in a three-dimensional model. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that clot retrieval devices coated with DNA-binding compounds can considerably improve the outcome of the MT procedures in stroke patients.

Hemodialysis arterio-venous graft design reducing the hemodynamic risk of vascular access dysfunction.

Although arterio-venous grafts (AVGs) represent the second choice as permanent vascular access for hemodialysis, this solution is still affected by a relevant failure rate due to graft thrombosis, and development of neointimal hyperplasia (IH) at the distal vein. As a key role in these processes has been attributed to the abnormal hemodynamics establishing in the distal vein, the optimization of AVGs design aimed at minimizing flow disturbances would reduce AVG hemodynamic-related risks. In this study we used computational fluid dynamics to investigate the impact of alternative AVG designs on the reduction of IH and thrombosis risk at the distal venous anastomosis. The performance of the newly designed AVGs was compared to that of commercially available devices. In detail, a total of eight AVG models in closed-loop configuration were constructed: two models resemble the commercially available straight conventional and helical-shaped AVGs; six models are characterized by the insertion of a flow divider (FD), straight or helical shaped, differently positioned inside the graft. Unfavorable hemodynamic conditions were analyzed by assessing the exposure to disturbed shear at the distal vein. Bulk flow was investigated in terms of helical blood flow features, potential thrombosis risk, and pressure drop over the graft. Findings from this study clearly show that using a helically-shaped FD located at the venous side of the graft could induce beneficial helical flow patterns that, minimizing flow disturbances, reduce the IH-related risk of failure at the distal vein, with a clinically irrelevant increase in thrombosis risk and pressure drop over the graft.