Hemocompatibility of new magnetically-levitated centrifugal pump technology compared to the CentriMag adult pump

The specific hemocompatibility properties of mechanical-circulatory-support (MCS)-pump technologies have not previously been described in a comparable manner. We thus investigated the hemocompatibility-indicating marker of a new magnetically-levitated (MagLev) centrifugal pump (MT-Mag) in a human, whole-blood mock-loop for 360 min using the MCS devices as a driving component. We compared those results with the CentriMag adult (C-Mag) device under the same conditions according to ISO10993-4. Blood samples were analyzed via enzyme-linked-immunosorbent-assay (ELISA) for markers of coagulation, complement system, and the inflammatory response. The time-dependent activation of the coagulation system was measured by detecting thrombin-anti-thrombin complexes (TAT). The activation of the complement system was determined by increased SC5b-9 levels in both groups. A significant activation of neutrophils (PMN-elastase) was detected within the C-Mag group, but not in the MT-Mag group. However, the amount of PMN-elastase at 360 min did not differ significantly between groups. The activation of the complement and coagulation system was found to be significantly time-dependent in both devices. However, coagulation activation as determined by the TAT level was lower in the MT-Mag group than in the C-Mag group. This slight disparity could have been achieved by the optimized secondary flow paths and surface coating, which reduces the interaction of the surface with blood.