Medical Implant Coating Effectively Prevents Blood Clots for 30+ Years, Study Finds

The Astute-branded antithrombogenic coating has been used by some of the major global medical device OEMs, including Medtronic, for many years, but a recent study from the University of Cambridge has shed new light on its performance. The coating developed by UK-based BioInteractions was applied to a novel prosthetic heart valve, which university scientists then tested. They found that the heart valve coated with Astute could withstand a remarkable billion open-and-close cycles, which translates to about 30 years of use.

Non-leaching technology

Astute uses an active antithrombogenic component combined with additional passive components to mimic the natural endothelial layer, thus preventing thrombus, or blood clot formation. Moreover, the components will not leach from the polymer, ensuring that the antithrombogenic effect is contained around the device.

“My father came up with this non-leaching technology more than 30 years ago and founded BioInteractions,” Arjun Luthra, commercial director, told me from the company’s booth at MD&M West. “Because the pharmaceutical agents don’t leach from the device, they don’t get used up. That ensures patient safety, of course, because we don’t want random chemicals flowing through the blood stream, but as the study shows, they remain active and prevent clotting for the implant’s lifetime.”

In addition to the coating’s longevity, the University of Cambridge study showed Astute’s good hemocompatibility performance and prevention of thrombus formation under high and low shear conditions in a deep coronary arterial injury simulation.

Long-term biocompatibility

Luthra also noted that the coating formulation has been updated: “It’s extremely durable and highly active. We have increased the active component within the little area [where it operates] tenfold,” he told PlasticsToday. “This is the future of medical technology as we see it: Lifetime active materials can result in reduced re-implantations, the treatment of younger patients with chronic issues, and a reduction in pharmaceutical regimens, such as the use of blood thinners.”

Check in with BioInteractions at booth 1847 at co-located Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) West and Plastec West, part of the Informa Markets Engineering West event in Anaheim, CA. The tradeshow and conference runs from Feb. 6 to 8 at the Anaheim Convention Center.