APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR STERILIZING, SEEDING, CULTURING, STORING, SHIPPING AND TESTING TISSUE, SYNTHETIC, OR NATIVE VASCULAR GRAFTS

摘要

An apparatus and method for sterilizing, seeding, culturing, storing, shipping, and testing vascular grafts and other prosthesis is disclosed. Specifically, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for seeding and culturing vascular grafts with human cells. The apparatus includes a fluid reservoir, a pump, an alternating pressure source, and at least one treatment chamber. In accordance with the present invention, fluid is pumped directly through the vascular graft located within the treatment chamber, subjecting the vascular graft to radial and shear stresses. In addition, the alternating pressure source expands and contracts the treatment chamber, thereby applying a varying axial stress to the scaffold positioned within the treatment chamber. Applying shear, radial, and axial stresses to the vascular graft during seeding and culturing simulates the physiological conditions experienced by the graft once implanted.