ABSTRACT
An aortic stent graft has been fatigue tested in a system that operates at a frequency of 50 Hz. The mode of operation and the results that supplement finite element model calculations are described.
Subject(s)
Biocompatible Materials/chemistry , Blood Vessel Prosthesis , Equipment Failure Analysis/instrumentation , Equipment Failure Analysis/methods , Materials Testing/instrumentation , Materials Testing/methods , Stents , Computer Simulation , Computer-Aided Design , Elasticity , Equipment Design/instrumentation , Equipment Design/methods , Finite Element Analysis , Models, TheoreticalABSTRACT
A micro-structured, biodegradable, semipermeable hollow nerve guide implant was developed to bridge nerve lesions. Quantitative comparison of cell migration and axonal growth using time lapse video recording in vitro revealed that axons grow eight times faster than neuritotrophic Schwann cells migrate. To accelerate regeneration, purified Schwann cells are best injected into nerve guides before implantation. Nerve guides made from resorbable poly-lactide-co-glycolide support Schwann cell attachment, cell survival, and axonal outgrowth in vitro. The therapeutic concept aims at the development of an 'intelligent neuroprosthesis' that first mediates regeneration and then disappears.