Investigation of the effect of different flow rates on the cell viability of fresh carotid arteries in vitro

Peripheral arterial disease leads to the damage of the blood vessels, currently replaced with vascular grafts, which are not able to regenerate in vivo. Tissue engineered vascular substitutes using decellularised equine carotid artery (ECA) seeded with the patient's own cells and mechanically stimulated in vitro represent an attractive alternative. The aim of this study was to investigate the optimum hydrodynamic conditions for maintaining the viability of fresh ECA in vitro.