Patent ID: 8162815

Claim:
A harvested blood vessel preservation device comprised of a blood vessel cannister, cannister cap, and blood vessel alignment insert, wherein the blood vessel cannister is shaped and configured as a hollow tube having a proximal terminus, distal terminus and central bore wherein an opening, continuous with said central bore is located at said proximal terminus only; the cannister cap includes a blood vessel engagement fitting and a cannister outlet fitting; and the blood vessel alignment insert is comprised of a tube-like portion and a disc-like portion, said disc-like portion configured and formed in the shape of a flattened disc having at least one perforation therethrough located at a center point of said disc-like portion the tube-like portion of the blood vessel alignment insert being especially configured and adapted to engage the distal end of a harvested vessel contained within the vessel cannister and the entire tube-like portion being located and positioned proximal to the disc-like portion, the at least one perforation at the center point of said disc-like portion being especially configured and positioned to provide fluid communication with the central bore of the canister, said tube-like portion having an opening at both proximal and distal termini thereof and a central bore therewithin running from said proximal to said distal termini, the distal terminus of said tube-like portion being continuous with and extending from the disc-like portion of the blood vessel alignment insert at said center point thereof, wherein a conduit is provided running from the opening at the proximal terminus of said tube-like portion, through the central bore thereof, through the opening at the distal terminus of said tube-like portion and thence through the at least one perforation of the disk-like member located at the center point thereof said conduit thereby enabling fluid, exiting the at least one perforation of the alignment insert to enter and fill the central bore of the canister, thereby wetting the outside surface of the blood vessel wherein when a pulsatile flow of blood, derived from a patient from whom a harvested vessel is removed, is passed through a harvested vessel contained within said blood vessel cannister, the harvested vessel contained therein is preserved in a viable state until it can be grafted back into the patients circulatory system at a desired and prepared location.