Pilot study of minimum occlusive force of vascular clamps on arterial vessels in rats

Abstract

Our aims were to determine the accuracy of an improved formula for determining the minimum occlusive force (MOF) of a vascular clamp on rats’ abdominal aortas, compare our findings with the calculated theoretical MOF, and provide reference data for clinical research and development of medical instruments that cause minimal damage. We created a vessel closure model and developed a formula for calculating the theoretical MOF of arterial vessels when they are occluded. This formula utilises the blood pressure in the blood vessel, its diameter, and the width of the vascular clamp. We then measured the actual MOF in 24 rat abdominal aortic segments with different diameters and different blood pressures and compared the theoretical and actual MOFs. Analysis of the experimental data showed a probability of 0.315, which means that, under the condition of normal distribution, the difference between the theoretical and actual MOF is not significant at the α = 0.05 level. Thus, the actual measured MOF tended to be consistent with the theoretical MOF calculated by the formula we developed. The improved formula will provide a reference for clinical research and development of medical instruments that cause minimal injury, thus contributing to the development of microsurgery.