Author Spotlight: Development of a Minimally Invasive Large-Animal Model for Reliable and Reproducible Cardiovascular Research

Most preclinical cardiovascular research is conducted on rodents and other small animal models. From a logistical, economic, reproducibility, and throughput perspective, it has obvious advantages. However, their phylogenetics, pathophysiological, and pharmacological responses are different from humans, and this may preclude the reliable translation to clinical use.

Taking advantage of our highly specialized surgical and endovascular skillset, we have focused on developing surgical and they breed large animal models of common cardiac pathologies. This protocol is one good example of a simple, minimally invasive procedure that provides a good balance between reliability, reproducibility, and animal welfare. By monitoring the gradient in real time using high fidelity pressure sensors, we are able to accurately titrate the pressure gradient across the stenosis, resulting in a very homogeneous degree of severity between animals.

Furthermore, the minimally invasive approach results in a much lower complication rate and better animal recovery. The development of large animal models, in this case swine, is promising for human-like pharmacological and device testing. This is particularly true for very sensitive areas where anatomophysiological similarities to humans are key, like anesthesia, cardiopulmonary bypass, ECMO, LVAS, percutaneous interest catheter therapies, and minimally invasive and robotic surgery.