Post-Mortem Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Perfusion Rat Model: A Feasibility Study

Animals, vol. 13, pp. 3532

Abstract

The development of biomedical soft- or hardware frequently includes testing in animals. However, large efforts have been made to reduce the number of animal experiments, according to the 3Rs principle. Simultaneously, a significant number of surplus animals are euthanized without scientific necessity. The primary aim of this study was to establish a post-mortem rat perfusion model using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in surplus rat cadavers and generate first post vivo results concerning the oxygenation performance of a recently developed ECMO membrane oxygenator. Four rats were euthanized and connected post-mortem to a venous-arterial ECMO circulation for up to eight hours. Angiographic perfusion proofs, blood gas analyses and blood oxygenation calculations were performed. The mean preparation time for the ECMO system was 791 ± 29 s and sufficient organ perfusion could be maintained for 463 ± 26 min, proofed via angiographic imaging and a mean femoral arterial pressure of 43 ± 17 mmHg. A stable partial oxygen pressure, a 73% rise in arterial oxygen concentration and an exponentially increasing oxygen extraction ratio up to 4.75 times were shown. Considering the 3Rs, the established post-mortal ECMO perfusion rat model using surplus animals represents a promising alternative to models using live animals. Given the preserved organ perfusion, its use could be conceivable for various biomedical device testing.

Authors 8

1. Matthias Manfred Deininger corresponding Aachen Department of Anesthesiology, Medical Faculty Department of Intensive and Intermediate Care Medical Faculty

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Anesthesiology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

   Department of Intensive and Intermediate Care, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

2. Carl-Friedrich Benner Aachen Medical Information Technology (MedIT)

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Medical Information Technology, Helmholtz-Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

3. Lasse J. Strudthoff Aachen Department of Cardiovascular Engineering Institute of Applied Medical Engineering Medical Faculty

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Cardiovascular Engineering, Institute of Applied Medical Engineering, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

4. Steffen K. Leonhardt Aachen Medical Information Technology (MedIT)

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Medical Information Technology, Helmholtz-Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

5. Christian Simon Bruells
   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Anesthesia, Intensive and Emergency Medicine, Marien Kliniken, 57072 Siegen, Germany

6. Gernot Marx Aachen Department of Intensive and Intermediate Care Medical Faculty

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Intensive and Intermediate Care, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

7. Christian Bleilevens Aachen Department of Anesthesiology, Medical Faculty

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Anesthesiology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany

8. Thomas G. K. Breuer Aachen Department of Intensive and Intermediate Care Medical Faculty

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Intensive and Intermediate Care, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany