Flow Controller For Vascular Graft Testing

Cutting-edge microfluidic flow controller for vascular graft perfusion testing

Vascular grafts produced by tissue engineering approaches are promising treatments for cardiac bypass or arterial repair. To meet the clinical requirements, they need to have a permeability close to the physiological blood vessels. This permeability and their mechanical resistance to flow are tested thanks to perfusion tests. Using a flow-driven pressure controller as the OB1 MK4, vascular grafts can be perfused using a blood-mimicking solution. By reproducing the blood pressure that occurs in the body, vessels are tested to resist different pressures. Whether you work with stable or cyclic pressure cycles, for short or week-long processes and experiments, the OB1 MK4 flow controller is the ideal instrument for testing your vascular constructs. Contact our team of experts to find out the best configuration for your setup.

This preclinical test is a mandatory step before going through animal surgery and graft. 

Customizable & upgradable solution for assessing engineered vessels leaks

The OB1 MK4 flow controller is a versatile instrument that can be customized to meet your specific experimental requirements. With one independent channel, you can flow your blood-like liquid through your engineered vascular graft. Should you need to test multiple engineered constructs simultaneously, you only need to split your pressure into the number of individual samples. If you prefer to individually control each sample, up to four channels can be set per flow controller, and multiple flow controllers can also be used.

To further tailor the flow controller to your needs, the pressure range for each individual outlet can be configured within a range of -1 bar to 8 bar. Our team of experts is available to help you determine the best configuration and number of pressure outlets required for your experiment. 

Control the flow rate and the pressure going through your artificial blood vessel

The two key parameters during a permeability assay are the pressure and the flow rate. To have full control of your experiment, the flow controller OB1 MK4 can be connected to a flow rate sensor (MFS) and/or a pressure sensor (MPS). Thanks to the data collected, you can assess the leaks that occur through the vascular graft and the maximal pressure the graft can overload.

With our intuitive software, you control the pressure profile that is applied to the graft and you are able to collect the data from the two sensors. Automated experiments can also be easily performed by creating a sequence of instructions in our sequencer. For more advanced users, the SDK libraries allow you to control the OB1 MK4 with your own code while connecting it to other instruments. 

By using our advanced flow control solutions, you can ensure that your perfusion experiments are optimized and you can repeat the same pressure profile on multiple samples. Our team of experts is available to help you determine the optimal configuration.