Джеремі Хейт та Рене Чжао демонструють використання спінера, використовуючи модель кровоносної системи людини/Aaron Kehoe
Researchers from the Stanford University laboratory in the United States have created a tiny tube with thin ribs to effectively remove blood clots from blood vessels.
During the tests, this tiny spinner was placed in a model of an artery clogged with a blood clot. Within seconds, the device eliminated the deadly blockage, restoring normal blood flow.
Millions of people around the world suffer from strokes, heart attacks and thromboembolism of the pulmonary artery. The most common are ischemic strokes, when a blood clot blocks blood flow to the brain. Doctors usually remove the blood clot using a technique called trhombectomy. However, tiny vacuum devices and Mesh loops used during thrombectomy are often not very effective.
According to the co-author of the new study, the head of the department of neurointerventions at Stanford, Ph Jeremy Haight, modern technologies successfully remove blood clots on the first attempt only in 50% of cases. In complicated cases, the probability of failure can exceed 80%. Instead of pulling or trying to break the clot, tiny spinner changes its shape by compressing and twisting the sticky threads the clot until it shrinks enough to be sucked out.
«In most cases, we are more than twice as efficient as current technologies, and for the most complex blood clots, which with modern devices, we remove no more than 11% of cases, with the new device, we are able to open the artery on the first attempt in 90% of cases», — Jeremy Haight emphasizes.
A blood clot is formed by fibrin, a strong protein that binds red blood cells together into a clot. Traditional thrombectomy devices stretch or break the clot, which creates risk of blood clot rupture and subsequent blockages elsewhere.
«This spinner is unique in that it uses compression and shear forces to compress the entire clot. It works equally well for a wide range of clot compositions and sizes. Even for dense, fibrin-rich clots that cannot be processed with current technology, our spinner can handle them», — explains senior author of the study, Prof Ruike René Zhao.
The device is inserted into the blood vessels using a catheter. Upon reaching the clot, the spinner starts spinning at a speed of up to 40 thousand revolutions per minute. Slits and ribs on the tube create localized suction that gently presses the clot against its surface. Red blood cells are released, the clot volume is reduced by up to 95%, and the dense fibrin ball is drawn into the spinner.
During the testing of the device on pigs, the spinner removed blood clots in the cerebral and renal arteries with near-perfect results. In more than 500 laboratory tests, including tortuous vessel models, the device achieved complete revascularization almost every time.
Clinical trials are expected to follow. However, according to the developers, their device can be used more widely. For example, this spinner can help remove kidney stone fragments.
The results of the study were published in the journal Nature
Source: ZMEScience