Methods
Six hearts were procured from male Yorkshire pigs. During cold ischemia,
hearts were mounted on our custom made ESHP circuit and a 3D printed
enclosure for the performance of echocardiography with a standard TEE
probe. Following perfusion with Langherdorf mode of the unloaded heart,
the system was switched into different working modes to allow LV loading
and functional assessment: pump supported (SAM) and passive (PAM).
Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular function in the donor
hearts was performed in vivo and at 1h of ESHP with SAM, after 4.5h with
PAM and after 5.5h with SAM.