Japan Develops World's Thinnest Artificial Blood Vessel

Osaka, Nov. 2 (Jiji Press)--Japan's National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center said Monday it has developed the world's thinnest artificial blood vessel, just 0.6 millimeter in diameter. At present, artificial blood vessels widely available for clinical use are over 5 millimeters in diameter. The new superfine vessel is suitable for blood bypass surgery in the brain and heart, the center said. Blood tends to stick to the inside of conventional artificial blood vessels, and fine vessels thus clog up easily. This makes it difficult to create very fine artificial vessels that do not become blocked. The center's team, including biomedical engineering materials laboratory leader Yasuhide Nakayama, used superfine stainless rods covered with silicon to create the new blood vessel. The rods were implanted under the skin of rats. After two months, superfine collagen tubes were formed on the silicon. The team tested the tubes by transplanting them into rats and observed for six months. The team confirmed that blood kept flowing inside the tubes. "Our technology is already complete," Nakayama said. "We aim to start clinical applications within one or two years." END