A NEW TECHNIQUE TO JOIN THE SMALL (0.

A NEW TECHNIQUE TO JOIN THE SMALL (0.05-2 MM DIAMETER) VEIN AND ARTERIES USING A DISSOLVABLE STENT AND PROPRIETARY SEMI-AUTOMATIC WRAPPING DEVICE THAT SETS AND COMPLETES A COJOINING IN LESS THAN 1 MINUTE. NO STAPLES ARE USED AND NO VESSEL EVERSION IS REQUIRED. PHASE I OF THE SBIR PROGRAM WILL TEST THE CONCEPT IN SMALL ANIMALS AND CONDUCT TESTS TO OPTIMIZE THE WRAPPING DEVICE. THE NEW TECHNIQUES IS EXPECTED TO: 1) SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE TIME AND EFFORT REQUIRED TO JOIN VESSELS WITH PRESENT SUTURE METHODS, 2) PROVIDE COJOINING THAT HAS IMPROVED RELIABILITY AND PATENCY, 3) ENHANCE HEALING OF VESSELS BY REDUCING PHYSICAL HANDLING, AND 4) EXPAND THE SCOPE OF MICROSURGERY THROUGH THE USE OF NEW TECHNIQUES. PHASE II OF THIS PROGRAM WILL FOCUS ON PROVING THE LONG-TERM PATENCY OF THIS NEW TECHNIQUE IN ANIMAL AND CLINICAL EXPERIMENTS. THE TOOLS WILL BE OPTIMIZED FOR EFFICIENCY AND RELIABILITY AND THE MATERIALS WILL BE EVALUATED TO OBTAIN MAXIMUM TISSUE COMPATIBILITY.