Porcine Model for the Evaluation and Development of Catheter-Based Coronary Devices: an Essential Preclinical Tool

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe experimental porcine model is anatomically and physiologically similar to the human heart; it is easily reproducible and very useful to test new stent and balloon generations. This study was aimed at analyzing an experimental model to evaluate different coronary devices for percutaneous coronary intervention.MethodsWe evaluated 131 juvenile commercial farm pigs, 109 were female, weighing 26.4±3.2kg. They were anesthetized and had mechanical ventilation and monitoring. Vascular access was obtained via the femoral artery by dissection or puncture. The coronary device was used after a selective catheterization of the coronary arteries with a JR 6F catheter. Animals were maintained on mechanical ventilation until recovery and were submitted to angiographic evaluation 7, 28, 90 and/or 180 days after the procedure. After euthanasia, the hearts were collected and submitted to macro and microscopic analysis.ResultsSix drug-eluting stents, two drug-eluting balloons and two bare-metal stents were tested. Unplanned deaths were observed in 1.5% of the cases during the procedures and in 9.2% of the cases after the procedure, occurring within 12 hours to 6 days (2.3±1.6days). In addition to angiographic evaluations, intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography were performed during the procedures in 20% and 60% of the cases, respectively. There was no death related to the use of the devices.ConclusionsThe experimental percutaneous porcine model proved to be reproducible with similar outcomes and low mortality for the different devices tested and is an essential tool for the evaluation of new coronary devices