Novosibirsk State Technical University (NSTU) has created equipment for growing artificial blood vessels. The unique device allows you to create elastic tubular formations for surgical operations by electroforming.
Konstantin Kuzmin, a bachelor of the Faculty of Automation and Computer Engineering at NSTU-NETI, has created equipment that makes it possible to manufacture blood vessels using a special method using a special collector. The equipment is a high-voltage installation (15-20 kV) based on an updated collector in the form of a cylinder with teeth of a special shape, on which conductive threads are wound.
"For the manufacture of vessels, a polymer is used, which is dosed in a field with high electrical voltage. This method has proven its practical effectiveness, as a result, prototypes of vessels with the required diameter from 0.7 to three centimeters were obtained, which is optimal for surgical interventions," said the author of the development.
Reconstruction of blood vessels is actively used in Russian surgery. During operations, the patient's vessels are used, which complicates the operation many times and increases its duration. The use of synthetic vessels is also not perfect, as complications often occur after surgery.
NSTU-NETI has focused on biocompatible materials for the manufacture of blood vessels. The use of nanofiber vessels facilitates the healing of implanted vessels and shortens the duration of surgery. "The electroforming method makes it possible to make vascular prostheses from most plastics, from those that completely decompose in the body to those that will never change," Konstantin Kuzmin noted.
The student has created prototypes of vessels that still require improvements, but they already confirm the effectiveness of this type of collector and the possibility of using it to create vessels. In the near future, it is planned to find various dependencies of the material characteristics on the installation parameters.
In Russia, there is already a practice of creating blood vessels, but, according to Konstantin Kuzmin, its manufacturing method is simpler and cheaper, therefore it has prospects for widespread use in medicine.