Hemolysis evaluation of centrifugal pumps using microcapsule suspension

Objectives: Bovine and human blood has been widely used for in vitro hemolysis testing to evaluate centrifugal cardiac assist pumps. However, results from such tests are complicated by variations in the susceptibility of individual red blood cells to shear. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of microcapsule suspension as an alternative to bovine or human blood for hemolysis testing. Methods: Microcapsule suspensions of 100 μm maximal diameter (average 79.1 μm) with a polyurethane membrane were used. Each microcapsule contained a leuco dye, which was used to measure "hemolysis" in the suspension after exposure to mechanical stress. Six centrifugal pumps were used to measure and compare the hemolysis values of microcapsule suspensions, bovine blood and human blood. Results: Correlations were significant between the hemolysis values measured using microcapsule suspensions and those using bovine blood (R = 0.965, p = 0.002) and human blood (R = 0.940, p = 0.005). Conclusions: Microcapsule suspension can be successfully used instead of blood to compare the relative hemolytic performance of centrifugal blood pumps.