Patent ID: 7824609

Claim:
In a method of performing a decellularizing treatment of a cell-containing cardiovascular tissue matrix to prepare a bioprosthesis to be coated with endogenic cells from a recipient of the prosthesis, said cardiovascular tissue being of allogenic or xenogenic origin, the improvement consisting of the following steps: 1) providing a treatment apparatus for circulating a treatment medium in contact with said cardiovascular tissue matrix, said treatment apparatus including: a treatment chamber having a chamber inlet fitting for a treatment medium and a chamber outlet fitting for said treatment medium; a holder within said treatment chamber for holding said cardiovascular tissue matrix; a diaphragm pump having a pump inlet in fluid transmissive communication with said chamber outlet fitting and a pump outlet in fluid transmissive communication with said chamber inlet fitting to circulate said treatment medium through said chamber; and at least one of a pump inlet valve connected to said pump inlet and a pump outlet valve connected to said pump outlet; 2) fixing said cardiovascular tissue matrix to said holder; 3) contacting said cell-containing cardiovascular tissue matrix with a first medium containing a bile acid by circulating said first medium through said treatment chamber; 4) rinsing said cardiovascular tissue matrix with a second medium by circulating said second medium through said treatment chamber; 5) contacting said cardiovascular tissue matrix with a third medium containing alcohol by circulating said third medium through said treatment chamber; and 6) rinsing said cardiovascular tissue matrix with a fourth medium by circulating said fourth medium through said treatment chamber; each of said media in said steps 4) and 6) being a buffer solution; and said cardiovascular tissue matrix being subjected to mechanical action produced by unidirectional pulsating continuous flow of a respective medium in at least step 6).