The isolated perfused heart system, as originated by Oscar Langendorff more than a century ago, has become a mainstay of pharmacological and physiological research. The system allows the examination of cardiac inotropic (cardiac contractile strength), chronotropic (heart rate), and vascular effects without the complications of an intact animal model. The original design has evolved to encompass both constant pressure and constant flow models in recirculating or non-recirculating modes, as well as working heart models. iWorx provides transducers, accessories and data acquisition hardware and software to be used in any of these configurations.

Modes

• Langendorff:

  • Constant pressure recirculating

  • Constant pressure
    nonrecirculating

  • Constant volume recirculating

  • Constant volume non-recirculating

• Working Heart

Pacing
For pacing the heart during a Langendorff preparation, the built-in digital stimulator of an iWorx data acquisition unit can be used. iWorx stimulators have very flexible controls, which even allow real-time changes in stimuli parameters to be made (with the touch of a button) through LabScribe2 software.

Enlarge Image

Record and AutoMark LDEVP, systolic and diastolic from a blood pressure curve, sending the calculations to the journal and a spreadsheet file in real-time.

Force, Pressures, Flow, and Volumes
Contractile forces, pressures, flow, and volumes can be measured using any combination of recording electrodes, strain-gage transducers and amplifiers which are available from iWorx. K+, Ca2+, Cl- and pH can also be measured directly from the perfusate by using electrodes connected to an iWorx signal conditioner. O2 consumption can be measured by placing an O2 electrode in the inflow and in the effluent and calculating the difference in concentration.

ECG
Electrocardiograms can also be recorded from the isolated heart using electrodes connected to any of our low noise biopotential amplifiers.