Small-diameter vascular grafts composed of polyester/spandex fibers: Manufacturing techniques and property evaluations

This study aims to examine the properties of the small-diameter vascular grafts that are made by incorporating polyester (PET) yarns and spandex fibers. PET and spandex fibers are warp-knitted or weft-knitted into tubular knits. These two tubular knits are combined with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) by applying a freezing-thawing method in order to create vascular grafts. The physical properties of vascular grafts are tested by performing tensile tests and a compliance test. The test results indicate that the incorporation of spandex fibers increases the deformation level along the axial direction of the warp-knitted tubular knits. In addition, the vascular grafts that are made of spandex fibers have a greater compliance than that of the commercially available vascular grafts (i.e., ePTFE) and natural blood vessels.