The new ‘coating’ material for blood-contacting devices is said to reduce the risks associated with blood clots and bleeding. Credit: The University of British Columbia.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada have developed a new ‘coating’ for blood-contacting medical devices to reduce the risks of blood clots and bleeding.

This new material, which is said to imitate the function of blood vessels, could lead to safer use of devices such as catheters, stents, blood-oxygenation devices, and dialysis machines, particularly in situations where blood clots pose a major concern.

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Acting as a ‘soft barrier’ on devices, the coating draws an essential blood protein while preventing the process of clotting activation.

Both in laboratory and animal studies, the coating is claimed to have exhibited a substantial decrease in clot formation on device surfaces, without the need for blood thinners and impacting usual clotting elsewhere in the body.

The team is currently looking to enhance this coating further for a wider array of blood-contacting device applications.

The researchers are also examining the potential for this coating to mitigate other blood-related complications such as inflammation or infection, particularly in long-term medical implants.

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UBC Immunomodulation Materials and Immunotherapy pathology and laboratory medicine professor and Tier 1 Canada Research chair Dr Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu said: “This discovery could be a transformative step in the development of safer medical devices.

“One of the most surprising insights was that controlling the interaction between the coating and specific blood proteins could prevent clotting without disrupting the body’s natural balance.

“This shows us that mimicking the body’s own mechanisms, rather than simply repelling blood components, is key to truly biocompatible device design.”

In February 2022, UBC and Asep Medical entered an exclusive licensing arrangement for a patented AI-driven sepsis diagnosis technology that could aid in the early diagnosis of sepsis disease.