153 - Comparison of Biodistribution Following Delivery of Human Skeletal Muscle Derived Cells (hSkMDCs) into Porcine Skeletal Muscle Tissue via Cook® ProFusion™ Therapeutic Infusion Needles and Conventional Hypodermic Needles

Abstract

The use of stem cell and gene therapies for the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI) has shown promising results in clinical settings. While these procedures have conventionally been performed using intramuscular delivery with standard hypodermic needles, recent data suggest that the use of the Cook ProFusion Therapeutic Infusion Needle may allow for the simplification and standardization of the infusion technique, and greater biodistribution of therapeutic agents within the target tissue. In the current study, fluorescently-labeled hSkMDCs were infused into porcine tissue using Cook ProFusion Therapeutic Needles as well as standard hypodermic needles. The primary endpoint was the approximate biodistribution of hSkMDCs in porcine skeletal muscle. For the hypodermic needles, infusion occurred simultaneously with needle retraction, simulating conventional clinical use, with an aim to improve biodistribution. No such retraction was necessary with the ProFusion needles due to the sideported infusion segment located at the distal 1 cm of the device (Figure 1). Following cell infusions, injected tissue was collected and fluorescently imaged using an IVIS Lumina System (Figure 2). Results suggest that the use of Cook ProFusion needles allow for greater biodistribution of therapeutic agents when compared to conventional hypodermic needles and delivery techniques. Figure 2 View Large Image Figure Viewer