Ventricular assist devices (VADs) have become a standard of care in the management of patients with advanced heart failure, yet the risk of thrombosis and stroke remains a significant challenge1,2. Thrombosis within VADs is typically assessed during preclinical animal studies, which, while valuable, present substantial costs and logistical challenges. These studies are resource-intensive, time-consuming, and are susceptible to a single defect compromising the entire test and necessitating additional trials. This not only increases the financial burden but also raises ethical concerns due to the need for repeated animal testing.
Although there exist many numerical models for predicting platelet deposition and thrombosis3,4,5,6, only a few are suitable for simulating thrombus formation in macro-scale devices such as VADs7,8,9. Moreover, existing models inevitably assume idealized surfaces and simplified "watertight" geometries, which do not accurately reflect the complexities and imperfections of real-world pump assemblies. When platelet-surface interactions are considered, these macro-scale models generally employ uniformly prescribed material properties (typically modeled as a coefficient in the surface-flux boundary conditions)10,11,12. Consequently, numerical models cannot completely substitute for experimental testing with blood.
Both material choice and surface finish play critical roles in platelet adhesion on VAD surfaces13,14,15,16,17. Imperfections such as rough spots or irregularities can promote platelet adhesion and thrombus formation. Additionally, crevices between components in the flow path can serve as a nidus for thrombosis, providing protected environments where clots can form and grow18,19. The use of grease, lubricants, or sealants during assembly can also pose a risk, as these substances may seep into the flow path and interact with the blood, further increasing the risk of complications.
There is, therefore, a need for a well-defined in vitro testing protocol that can reliably assess the thromboresistance of VADs before they are subjected to animal testing or clinical use. While there is a widely adopted ASTM standard for the assessment of hemolysis20, no such standard exists for thrombogenicity testing of VADs under clinically relevant operating conditions21. Despite seminal studies dating back three decades demonstrating the feasibility of in vitro thrombosis testing for blood pumps22,23,24,25, animal testing has persisted as the de facto practice for evaluating thrombosis to date26. The hindrance to wider adoption of in vitro methods has likely been the complex nature of coagulation, with the multitude of confounding factors that can influence test results, making it challenging to differentiate intrinsic pump thrombogenicity from artifacts arising due to methodological limitations and procedural errors.
This motivated us to share a detailed protocol as a guide for experimentalists to avoid pitfalls, hence promoting the use of in vitro testing and mitigating the reliance on animal studies. The protocol described herein, derived from Maruyama et al.27, was refined and validated during the design of the 5th generation PediaFlow (PF5) pediatric VAD28,29. This testing method proved instrumental in systematically identifying and addressing potential thrombogenic risks in the VAD prototypes ahead of animal testing.