DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW APPARATUS TO OBSERVE MICROCIRCULATION CHRONICALLY IN CONTINUOUS-FLOW BLOOD PUMP RESEARCH

To observe microcirculation chronically is an important key to the suc cessful evaluation of the continuous flow blood pump. In this study, w e succeeded in developing a new apparatus by which microcirculation co uld be observed chronically without a microscope in a conscious animal . The apparatus utilizes a charge coupled device (CCD). A thin living tissue, such as mesentery, is put directly on a highly integrated CCD and is lit up through the tissue with a light-emitting diode (LED). Th e vascular nets in the tissue are projected onto the CCD like a contac t photograph, which is then sent to a television screen and which can be used to analyze their motion and function. A 0.5-inch CCD having 25 0,000 pixels was used in this study. The cover glass of the CCD was re moved, and a fiber optic plate was fixed onto the surface of the CCD f or the tissue to be able to contact with the apparatus surface without clearance. The CCD as well as the LED were molded with epoxy resin fo r electrical insulation. The apparatus was 35 mm wide and 12 mm high w ith a micro stand for an LED, which can be easily implanted into an an imal. The apparatus was implanted into a rabbit for 12 h. The configur ation of arterioles and venules, tens of micrometers in diameter, and their motions in subcutaneous tissue could be observed.