Biohybrid lung Development: Towards Complete Endothelialization of an Assembled Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator

Towards the establishment of a long-term lung-assist device to be used both as a bridge and as an alternative to lung transplantation according to final destination therapy, we develop the biohybrid lung (BHL) on the technical basis of contemporary extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Here, to overcome the significant drawbacks of ECMO, in particular the missing hemocompatibility of the artificial surfaces, all blood-contacting areas need to be endothelialized sufficiently. In continuation of our recent accomplishments, demonstrating the feasibility of establishing a physiological acting endothelial cell (EC) monolayer on the hollow fiber membranes (HFMs) of the ECMO in vitro, the next step towards BHL translation is the endothelialization of the complete oxygenator, consisting of HFMs and the surrounding housing. Therefore, we assessed EC seeding inside our model oxygenator (MOx), which simulated the conditions in the assembled HFM oxygenators in order to identify the most important factors influencing efficient endothelialization, such as cell seeding density, cell distribution, incubation time and culture medium consumption. Overall, upon adjusting the concentration of infused ECs to 15.2 × 104/cm2 and ensuring optimal dispersion of cells in the MOx, viable and confluent EC monolayers formed on all relevant surfaces within 24 h, even though they comprised different polymers, i.e., the fibronectin-coated HFMs and the polysulfone MOx housing. Periodic medium change ensured monolayer survival and negligible apoptosis rates comparable to the reference within the assembled system. By means of these results, revealing essential implications for BHL development, their clinical translation is coming one step closer to reality

Structured Reporting in Cross-Sectional Imaging of the Heart: Reporting Templates for CMR Imaging of Cardiomyopathies (Myocarditis, Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy and Siderosis)

Backround Structured reports have numerous benefits through standardizing the way imaging findings are reported and communicated. Nevertheless, the adoption of structured reports in everyday radiological practice is still limited. In view of the irrefutable benefits, various national and international radiological societies have started initiatives which aim at promoting a broader use of structured reports. Up to now, no consented templates in German language existed for the reporting of cross-sectional imaging studies of the heart. Method Upon invitation of the working group for Cardiovascular Imaging of the German Society of Radiology a panel of radiologists, cardiologists, pediatric cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons, experts on the field of cardiovascular imaging and structured reporting, met for two interdisciplinary consensus meetings at the University Hospital Cologne in 2018. The aim of these meetings was to develop and agree on templates for the reporting of MR and CT studies of various cardiovascular disease entities. Results During the meetings the panel of experts developed and reached consensus on 11 different templates for the structured reporting of the following: myocarditis, dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic (obstructive) cardiomyopathy, arrythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, siderosis, ischemia and vitality imaging, tetralogy of Fallot, aortic coarctation, coronary CT and CT for Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI) planning. The first five templates are presented in this publication and are currently being transferred to a HTML 5/IHR MRRT compatible format. Subsequently, the templates will be made available for free use on the website www.befundung.drg.de. Conclusion For the first time, consented templates in German language for the structured reporting of cross-sectional imaging studies of the heart are presented. These templates are aimed at providing a constant level of high reporting quality and increasing the efficiency of the generation and communication of imaging reports