The Culture myograph system is designed to provide long-term preservation of small blood vessels function by maintaining them under controlled culture conditions of intravascular pressure and flow.
 
By using a closed sterile system, sterile conditions and standard culture methodology, vessels can be studied for several days (up to seven days).
 
»vessels can be studied for up to seven days«
      
The system has an integrated DMT microscope (with a CCD camera) allowing continuous monitoring of the vessel during the culture period or periodically, if multiple segments are in culture stimultaneously. It contains a stage with built-in heating and two pressurized reservoirs for flow (for mounting and for inducing a small luminal flow under experimental conditions). The pressure comes from an external pressure unit. Either a custom pressure source or the DMT pressure interface can be used.
 
During culturing, all possible parameters such as lumen size, wall thickness, cross sectional area etc. can be acquired via the customized acquisition program ‘VediView'. 
      

 

The design of the small chamber allows for easy access to insert the vessel for cannulation. The cannulae are easily changed and the chamber cover allows appropriate viewing via its submerged centre. All parts of the chamber unit can easily be disassembled and sterilized by autoclaving. Two inlet/outlet ports are available for insertion of probes or superfusing medias.
 
    
The original 202CM model comes with one chamber stage whereas the 204CM is equipped with four chamber stages. By providing one heating unit for four stages and up to four small individual pressure units, productivity can be increased significantly making it more widely used. Only the essential components for vessel culture are multiplied in the 204CM model.


  
The Culture myograph package 

Myograph chamber, interface unit, chamber cover, vacuum valve, tubing and glass bottles. Pressure regulator, peristaltic pump, pressure manometer and set of polished cannulas. Universal DMT precision inverted microscope with built-in CCD camera, infra-red illumination, frame grabber and PC & acquisition/ Vediview analysis software