Deininger, M. M., Benner, C.-F., Strudthoff, L. J. et al. 2023. Post-mortem extracorporeal membrane oxygenation perfusion rat model: A feasibility study. Animals 13(22), 3532.

The development of biomedical soft- or hardware frequently includes testing in animals. However, large efforts have been made to reduce the number of animal experiments, according to the 3Rs principle. Simultaneously, a significant number of surplus animals are euthanized without scientific necessity. The primary aim of this study was to establish a post-mortem rat perfusion model using extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in surplus rat cadavers and generate first post vivo results concerning the oxygenation performance of a recently developed ECMO membrane oxygenator. Four rats were euthanized and connected post-mortem to a venous–arterial ECMO circulation for up to eight hours. Angiographic perfusion proofs, blood gas analyses and blood oxygenation calculations were performed. The mean preparation time for the ECMO system was 791 ± 29 s and sufficient organ perfusion could be maintained for 463 ± 26 min, proofed via angiographic imaging and a mean femoral arterial pressure of 43 ± 17 mmHg. A stable partial oxygen pressure, a 73% rise in arterial oxygen concentration and an exponentially increasing oxygen extraction ratio up to 4.75 times were shown. Considering the 3Rs, the established post-mortal ECMO perfusion rat model using surplus animals represents a promising alternative to models using live animals. Given the preserved organ perfusion, its use could be conceivable for various biomedical device testing.