Figure 1. Protocol of ischaemic acute liver failure model.

(A) Pigs were treated with the bioartificial liver machine 2–3 h after establishing ischaemic damage. After anaesthesia, brain monitoring catheters were inserted, prior to establishment of porta-caval shunt and arterial, venous and urine catheter placement. (B) Schematic of the bioartificial liver machine: The fluidised-bed bioreactor chamber containing either cell bead biomass (Group 1) or empty beads for control (Group2), was attached to the pig via a plasmapheresis machine. Blood was obtained from the pig via the splenic vein at 90 ml/min and separated from cellular components with a Cobe Spectra Plasma separator, providing plasma at a flow rate of ∼45 ml/min in a primary circuit, feeding into the BAL secondary circuit at ∼400–600 ml/min. Whole blood was returned to the pig via the plasma-separator at 90 ml/min, combining the “treated ”plasma with the cellular component.