Les tests mécaniques d'évaluation des prothèses vasculaires

A vascular prosthesis must respect all of the standards established by the European or international commissions prior to being marketed. Knowledge of all these tests is essential to the manufacturer and allows the surgeon to compare impartially different models of prostheses. We propose to describe the tests applicable to tubular vascular prostheses. The standards can be separated into two main groups. The first group concerns the resistance of the prosthesis during its use (suture resistance, mechanical resistances, etc.). The second group of tests describes the specifications of the prosthesis usable at the time of the implantation (porosity, usable length, water permeability, etc.). The analysis of the description of the standards shows that they are not precise enough to avoid differences of interpretation. Moreover, it is sometime difficult to determine the parameters to measure. This is related to the history of the standard describing the protocol of measurement of the parameter or to an inaccuracy related to the test procedure. Consequently, the result of the tests may present different values depending on the laboratory where they are performed. A reappraisal of the protocol of the test procedures may improve the tests themselves and also allow the proposal of new definitions of parameters or new tests.