Blood-contacting biomaterials: bioengineering viewpoints.

The investigation of blood-contacting biomaterials is an important challenge and is relevant for an improvement in the clinical application of biomaterials. With the purpose of improved clinical treatment, bioengineering viewpoints of blood-contacting biomaterials cover the material options and selection, the utilization of materials, the development of materials with better properties, and processing characteristics, and the design of relevant evaluation procedures. The bioengineering objective remains that of achieving an enhanced understanding of the relationship between a biomaterial and the biological response.