July 31, 2002 - Cardiovascular researchers at The University of Akron will be able to conduct research that will open new avenues for the treatment, preservation and transplantation of human organs, through the use of a cutting-edge perfusion device designed by a University alumnus.
Life Systems Corp. of Redmond, Wash., has donated a $55,000 isolated organ research machine, the Lifesustainer 1000 (LS 1000), with the Department of Biology at The University of Akron. The LS 1000 can keep hearts or other organs alive outside of the body for research applications through the perfusion technique. Perfusion is the technique of supplying nutrients and oxygen to an organ through its vascular network. The device has applications in the field of drug discovery and toxicity studies, and can be used to extend organ preservation time for transplants.
A UA team led by Dr. Daniel L. Ely, a professor of biology and cardiovascular researcher, will use the device for studies involving the heart.
There are two large avenues that we are researching, Ely says. One is heart preservation, which is a critical key for transplants. This machine will allow 24 hours of preservation, so they can be shipped much farther than was previously possible.
The second type of work is studying different types of medications or drug treatments, he continues. How can you better protect the heart during a heart attack? How can you better treat a heart during an attack? We now can do both short-term and long-term experiments with animal hearts to test drugs or treatments to preserve them.
The testing and troubleshooting of the device conducted by UA researchers will aid hospitals and transplantation experts nationwide, Ely says.
It's cutting edge, he says. There's no question about it.
Dr. Fereydoon Sadri a UA alumnus and founder and president of Life Systems Corp. says the ties between the University and Life Systems signal a turning point in cardiovascular and organ preservation research.
Our understanding of human organ treatment is minimal, he explains. We believe that the LS 1000 will provide biomedical researchers with a valuable tool in the study of organs. Biological researchers are only now learning what can be done to treat them.
With the heart, for example, the only treatment we have is to fix the plumbing' through bypass surgery. However, when there is something wrong with the muscle itself, we are unable to treat it, Sadri says. With the help of our new instrument, the University's biomedical researchers will be able to conduct cardiovascular research that will open new avenues in organ treatment, preservation and transplantation.
Life Systems Corp. is a leader in the development of advanced, fully automated perfusion devices for isolated organ research. The company's products are based on technology developed and patented by Sadri and others over nearly 15 years.