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The bioartificial liver support system is another significant liver support system that has been designed by Excorp medical in the USA. It further uses the porcine hepatocytes in a single fibre cartridge that is hollow and not solid. However, this device has not been successfully established and used in the technique of including bioartificial liver in case of liver failure. This is due to the reason that this device is still under study in phase 2 or 3 and thus not have established successful results significantly.
Comparison of pros and cons
The bioartificial liver being used among patients who suffer from liver failure and cannot be immediately provided with liver transplantation is associated with both advantages and disadvantages. The pros include the support system that is provided to the patients as it becomes tough for the health practitioners to establish the replacement therapy significantly after detection and diagnosis of liver failure. Hence this support system provides time for replacement therapy.
Furthermore, it also allows normal functioning of the liver to a great extent as the hepatocytes are the main base of these devices. The bioartificial liver is more advantageous as compared to that of the artificial liver because these are completely based on cells and not any other materials. All the above-mentioned products of the bioartificial liver have proved to be significant in their outcomes.
The bioartificial devices, furthermore, provide both synthetic functions and detoxification, unlike the artificial ones that only provide detoxification and not synthesis. The only cons that are associated with the bioartificial liver are the lack of clinical trials that can signify the safety of humans to a large extent. Although outcomes have been satisfying in some cases still the safety standards have not been ascertained due to the lack of a huge number of clinical trials.
Need for improving current designs/products
The bioartificial liver support systems are significant and can be used to provide the detoxification and synthesis processes of the liver in individuals who have reported having liver failure. The only improvements that are needed are the increased number of clinical trials to maintain safety and allow bile synthesis. The bioartificial livers have not undergone many clinical trials concerning the safety of individuals.
Although some of the bioartificial liver products have provided successful results yet the clinical trials owing to their usage and implementation should be ascertained. Furthermore, another improvement that is needed in the structure and functioning of the device is to allow the excretion of bile. The bioartificial liver does not have any significant functioning in the system that can provide a source for excreting bile pigments. Thus, redesigning of the device is necessary to be carried out so that the excretion of bile pigments can be established (Chen, Joo, & Shaheen, 2019). This will then not interfere with the body functions of humans and maintain their safety.