In order to maintain the circulation of blood artificial blood vessels are used. These artificial blood vessels are made up of chemically produced (synthetic) materials. Alexis Carrel who is a French-American surgeon, accomplished a process of sewing together the ends of the blood vessels and also created artificial blood vessels by making the use of glass and aluminum tubes during the world war I. Alexis Carrel bagged the 1912 Nobel Prize in medicine for this accomplishment.
The artificial blood vessels that are majorly successful and are used today are hail from the surgical methods that were cultivated in the 1940s and 1950s. Arteries or veins taken from donors were transplanted in the initial stages by surgeons to replace or recover injured or infected arteries or veins, however it failed often. In few cases the recipient rejected the arteries of the donor and in other cases hardening of the arteries (arteriosclerosis) occurred. The process of transplanting blood vessels from the body of the patient itself was complicated due to the entire requiring two surgeries, one to collect the vessels and the second one to transplant the blood vessels. Furthermore, for patients who suffer with circulation issues have difficulties searching for suitable vessels for transplantation. In order to eliminate these issues scientists started experimenting with synthetic materials of blood vessels like a soft and waxy plastic (polyethylene) and rubber that is made from silicone (siliconized rubber) as these proved to be more promising.
Synthetic Material over Natural Material
Vinyon is a penetrablematerial, which had been experimented on dogs, was first used on humans by A.B. Voorhees in the year of 1953. Later on, various fabrics were used for experimentation out of which the synthetic fiber Dacron and the plastic Teflon worked best. The immune system of the body does not reject these blood vessels made of syntheticsand the materials are very durable and conveniently available. The small Dacron blood vessels pose a tendency of having a blockage due to clots, while the big Dacron blood vessels work affirmatively. To avoid clotting, scientists are working towards making the walls of these vessels smooth.
Assistance in Treating Cardiovascular Disease
Maximum deaths that are cause in western countries are due to cardiovascular disease. It is important to attain advanced intelligence to evaluate and to conclude these diseases better for the reconstruction of tissues and blood vessels. According to researcher Cecilia Sahlgren from Åbo Akademi University, new facts attained from the research can be applied in the future like providing researchers and physicians with a tool to calculate the prediction of construction of the blood vessels with natural circulation. This will assist in building up protocols for medical treatments.