Achieving sustained extrauterine life: Challenges of an artificial placenta in fetal pigs as a model of the preterm human fetus.

ABSTRACT: Artificial placenta (AP) technology aims to maintain fetal circulation, while promoting the physiologic development of organs. Recent reports of experiments performed in sheep indicate the intrauterine environment can be recreated through the cannulation of umbilical vessels, replacement of the placenta with a low-resistance membrane oxygenator, and incubation of the fetus in fluid. However, it remains to be seen whether animal fetuses similar in size to the extremely preterm human infant that have been proposed as a potential target for this technology can be supported in this way. Preterm Yucatan miniature piglets are similar in size to extremely preterm human infants and share similar umbilical cord anatomy, raising the possibility to serve as a good model to investigate the AP. To char

SUBMITTER: Charest-Pekeski AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7923578 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature