Quantifying the mechanical and histological properties of thrombus analog made from human blood for the creation of synthetic thrombus for thrombectomy device testing

Authors

William Merritt, Mechanical Engineering Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
Anne Marie Holter, Mechanical Engineering Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
Sharna Beahm, Mechanical Engineering Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
Connor Gonzalez, Mechanical Engineering Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
Timothy A. Becker, Mechanical Engineering Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
Aaron Tabor, Center for Bioengineering Innovation, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
Andrew F. Ducruet, Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix, Arizona, USA.Follow
Laura S. Bonsmann, Mechanical Engineering Department, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
Trevor R. Cotter, Center for Bioengineering Innovation, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA.
Sergey Frenklakh, Stryker Neurovascular Intervention, Research and Development, Fremont, California, USA.

Document Type

Article

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Untreated ischemic stroke can lead to severe morbidity and death, and as such, there are numerous endovascular blood-clot removal (thrombectomy) devices approved for human use. Human thrombi types are highly variable and are typically classified in qualitative terms - 'soft/red,' 'hard/white,' or 'aged/calcified.' Quantifying human thrombus properties can accelerate the development of thrombus analogs for the study of thrombectomy outcomes, which are often inconsistent among treated patients. METHODS: 'Soft'human thrombi were created from blood samples ex vivo (ie, human blood clotted in sample vials) and tested for mechanical properties using a hybrid rheometer material testing system. Synthetic thrombus materials were also mechanically tested and compared with the 'soft' human blood clots. RESULTS: Mechanical testing quantified the shear modulus and dynamic (elastic) modulus of volunteer human thrombus samples. This data was used to formulate a synthetic blood clot made from a composite polymer hydrogel of polyacrylamide and alginate (PAAM-Alg). The PAAM-Alg interpenetrating network of covalently and ionically cross-linked polymers had tunable elastic and shear moduli properties and shape memory characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Due to its adjustable properties, PAAM-Alg can be modified to mimic various thrombi classifications. Future studies will include obtaining and quantitatively classifying patient thrombectomy samples and altering the PAAM-Alg to mimic the results for use with in vitro thrombectomy studies.

Keywords

device, stroke, thrombectomy

Medical Subject Headings

Adult; Blood Physiological Phenomena; Elasticity (physiology); Female; Humans; Male; Materials Testing (methods); Rheology (instrumentation, methods); Shear Strength (physiology); Thrombectomy (instrumentation, methods); Thrombosis (diagnosis, physiopathology); Young Adult

Publication Date

12-1-2018

Publication Title

Journal of neurointerventional surgery

E-ISSN

1759-8486

Volume

10

Issue

12

First Page

1168

Last Page

1173

PubMed ID

29695602

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1136/neurintsurg-2017-013675

Recommended Citation

Merritt, William; Holter, Anne Marie; Beahm, Sharna; Gonzalez, Connor; Becker, Timothy A.; Tabor, Aaron; Ducruet, Andrew F.; Bonsmann, Laura S.; Cotter, Trevor R.; and Frenklakh, Sergey, "Quantifying the mechanical and histological properties of thrombus analog made from human blood for the creation of synthetic thrombus for thrombectomy device testing" (2018). Translational Neuroscience. 2154.
https://scholar.barrowneuro.org/neurobiology/2154