Title: Fibre-in-Fibre Bioartificial Liver device: initial in vitro testing

Authors: Ali Hilal-Alnaqbi, John D.S. Gaylor

Addresses: Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, P.O. Box 17555, Al-Ain, UAE. ' Bioengineering Unit, Wolfson Centre, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0NW, UK

Abstract: Transplantation is the proven treatment for acute liver failure and in severe cases, affective Bioartificial Liver (BAL) support may provide a bridge to transplantation. This paper describes in vitro evaluation of a novel Fibre-in-Fibre BAL. It is a conventional fibre cartridge with three discrete compartments. Bovine blood is used to assess Oxygen transfer performance of the FIF bioreactor. The tests were carried according to ISO test protocols. Blood flow rate, number of fibre-in-fibre pairs and haemoglobin concentration, C_Hb are used to assess the oxygen transfer rates. The results demonstrated that the FIF bioreactor provides good gas transfer support.

Keywords: hepatocytes; artificial liver; liver failure; therapies; hybrid liver support; FIF-BAL; fibre-in-fibre BAL; biomedical engineering; bioartificial liver; oxygen transfer; gas transfer; blood flow; haemoglobin concentration; liver transplant.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBET.2011.041771

International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, 2011 Vol.6 No.4, pp.323 - 336

Published online: 21 Jan 2015 *

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