A MICROFLUIDIC DEVICE FOR THE CHARACTERISATION OF EMBOLISATION WITH MICROSPHERICAL BEADS

摘要

A microfluidic-based device has been developed for the characterisation of embolisation behaviour with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel beads within a biomimetic microchannel network. Both distal and proximal embolisations were achieved within the PMMA-made microdevice exhibiting comparable embolisation characteristics with those observed in-vivo. Results showed that small beads allowed distal embolisations with a reduced control of the spatial location of occlusion sites, while large beads generated effective proximal embolisations with an improved reproducibility of embolisation performance. This development provided unique insights into the physical principles governing embolisation performance allowing the improvement of the predictability and controllability of the clinical process outcomes.