Closing the Gap in Vein Conduit Access Inequities by Implementing the First Non- Mechanical, Maintenance Free, Remotely Monitored Freezer Program Worldwide

Surgical revascularizations require good quality conduit. Autologous vein is the most preferred but may be unusable in certain patients. Cryopreserved vein allografts are an alternative found to be infection resistant and reasonably safe for vascular reconstruction.  The need for a venous conduit may be emergent. Historically it can take 24-48 hours for a cryopreserved vein to arrive at a rural and remote centre. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada is the first center to utilize the non -mechanical, maintenance-free, remotely monitored freezer program in the world.

 



Methods:

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is located centrally in Canada and has a catchment area of 700,000. St Paul’s Hospital is one of the highest use cryopreserved allografts centers in Canada, using them for infrainguinal distal bypass grafting and vein bypass grafting when autologous venous conduits are not suitable.

Installation of the new Hair Biomedical Smart Series has now allowed for off the shelf access to vascular cryo-tissue for planned and emergent bail out options. The small footprint freezer was installed adjacent to our operating theatre for easy access.

 



Results:

Using the Smart Series freezer program allows us the option to use cryopreserved allografts from decision to implementation in under 30 minutes. We can use the conduit of our choice that is best for the case without having to consider transport time of 24-48 hours. The freezer is user friendly with colour identified rack handles to manage veins. Each rack stores various sizes of allografts enabling surgeons to select the conduit specifically required for their case.  The freezer has no power and no need for a backup system or maintenance.

The smart series is an aluminum constructed no power freezer with low consumption rate and high-performance stability. A high precision controller is automatically monitored remotely for accurate storage temperature and liquid level. Real time dual monitoring has allowed samples to be safely stored. Alarms are transmitted via email, IM and wechat.



Conclusions:

By implementing the first non-mechanical, maintenance free, remotely monitored freezer program in the world, St. Paul’s Hospital in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan is actively closing the gap in vein conduit access for vascular patients requiring the cryopreserved vein option for both planned and bail out procedures. The freezer provides equal access to rural and remote centers across the country enabling surgeons to use the conduit of their choice for cases with no suitable vein option. The program is easy to implement with multiple vein storage, user friendly access, and temperature and level real time remote monitoring to safeguard the storage environment of cryopreserved veins.