P-060 Application of non-destructive mechanical characterization testing for creating in vitro vessel models with material properties similar to human neurovasculature

Introduction/Purpose Vessel models are a first step in developing endovascular medical devices. These models are often madefrom glass or silicone, which do not accurately represent the mechanical properties of human vasculartissue, limiting their use to basic training and proof-of-concept testing. This study outlines methods toquantify the mechanical properties of both human vascular tissue and synthetic biomaterials for creatingrepresentative vessel models. Materials and Methods Human vascular tissue was assessed and compared to standard silicone and new UV-cured polymers (VC-A30). Vessel materials were characterized with eight mechanical tests: compressive, shear, and tensiledynamic elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio, hardness, radial compression, compliance, and lubricity. Half ofthese testing methods were non-destructive, allowing for multiple mechanical and histologicalcharacterizations of the same human tissue sample. Results Histological evaluation of cellular and extracellular matrix of the human vessels showed the dynamicmoduli and Poison’s ratio tests were non-destructive (figure 1 Left), whereas the destructive hardnesstest created significant tearing of the vessel layers (figure 1 Middle). Fluid absorption by VC-A30 showedstatistically significant softening of mechanical properties, stabilizing after 4 days in phosphate-bufferedsaline (PBS). VC-A30 exhibited statistically similar results to human vasculature, with% error less than29%, in 5 of 8 mechanical tests, versus 1 of 8 for standard silicone. Human vessel lubricity (determinesdevice trackablility within a vessel) statistically matched the lubricity of all the VC-A30 samples (figure 1 Right). Conclusion VC-A30 provides a new option for creating translucent in vitro vascular models with anatomically-relevantproperties. VC-A30 can be formed into highly accurate models with specific mechanical properties usingthe latest 3D-printing techniques. These new vessel analogs may simulate patient-specific vessel diseasestates, improve surgical training models, accelerate the development of new endovascular devices, andultimately reduce dependencies on animal models. Disclosures K. Lewis: None. J. Vigil: None. N. Norris: None. W. Merritt: None. T. Becker: 1; C; NIH grant #5R42NS097069-03.