Swiss researchers have developed a machine that can keep human livers (肝脏)live outside of the body for one week. At present, technology and methods are only able to keep human livers alive for up to 24 hours. The new machine is able to keep the liver active by performing several functions normally carried out by the human body.
Scientists from the University of Zurich in Switzerland developed the machine. The researchers say the purpose of their "Liver4Lifb" machine is to perform what they call liver perfusion (灌注)operations outside of the human body. Perfusion is the process by which blood or other fluids are pumped through organs and tissue. The machine keeps the liver at the right temperature and moves it in a way that would be natural in the body. It uses a pump to fill the liver with blood acting like a replacement for a human heart. The machine also provides oxygen to the organ, controls red blood cell levels and removes waste.
The research team began their experiments using livers from pigs. After repeated testing and engineering development, the team said it was able to get the pig livers to survive for seven days with support only provided from the Liver4Life machine.
They also discovered that the system can work to repair damaged livers. In one test, the team connected the machine to 10 injured human livers that had been rejected for transplantation by all European medical centers. After seven days of perfusion treatment from the machine, six of the human livers fully regained important liver functions, the researchers reported.
The success of this unique perfusion system, developed over a four-year period by a group of surgeons, biologists and engineers, clears the way for many new applications in transplantation and cancer medicine, helping patients with no liver grafts (移植)available.
