Quality

Quality Counts

While there are many different products and methodologies that exist to prepare Autologous Platelet Concentrate (APC), it is important to keep in mind that not all APC is created equal.

The Harvest^® Platelet Concentrate System contains the key essential components to generate APC that may help optimize conditions for healing, including:^2,12,13,14

5 to 6 times the concentration of baseline platelet levels^2,12,14
Significantly elevated levels of all key growth factors critical to the healing process^2,12,14
Retention of the stem-cell-rich mononuclear white blood cell (WBC) fraction (as evidenced by CD34+ counts)¹⁰
Reduced levels of the inflammatory granulocyte WBC fraction¹⁰

The Highest Platelet Concentration When Compared to 12 Other Systems

The APC produced using the Harvest^® SmartPrep^® Multicelluar System consistently and reproducibly delivers a final product that contains the highest platelet concentration and yield when compared to 12 other systems, as shown by the data here.

The Harvest SmartPrep system has the ability to generate up to 1.5 million platelets/µL of APC. Some other systems do not produce high enough platelet concentrations to facilitate angiogenesis—a biological process critical to healing.¹³

This chart below indicates the high platelet concentration needed to facilitate angiogenesis:¹⁵

48-Hour Proliferation Assay of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (n = 27)¹¹

High Concentrations of Key Growth Factors

Platelet concentration is directly proportional to growth factor concentration.³² When more platelets are isolated in a APC preparation, more growth factors are delivered to the application site. These growth factors support several key processes, including stem cell recruitment, angiogenesis, cell proliferation and differentiation.¹³

The Harvest platelet concentrate system provides high concentrations of several key growth factors involved in healing and tissue regeneration, including:

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is chemoattractive for stem cells and endothelial cells
Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) promotes cell mitosis and differentiation for connective tissue and bone
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) stimulates angiogenesis and is chemoattractive for osteoblasts
Stromal-cell-derived factor 1 alpha (SDF-1α) actively modulates migration and homing of stem cells to the repair site

Selective Enrichment of the Stem-Cell-Rich Mononuclear Fraction

The floating shelf used in the Harvest process disposable is specifically designed to selectively capture the mononuclear fraction of the WBC population. Many other APC systems remove this important component from their APC preparations.

This fraction contains the majority of peripheral stem cells, identified by the CD34+ marker. CD34+ cells aid in angiogenesis and tissue regeneration at the application site. The concentration of stem cells found in APC prepared on the Harvest SmartPrep system is indicated by the predominance of CD34+ cells.⁶

Selective Reduction of the Inflammatory Granulocyte Fraction

Similarly, the floating shelf of the Harvest process disposable also preferentially reduces the granulocyte cell population in the final APC product, delivering lower-than-baseline levels to limit inflammation.

This chart shows the composition and concentration of a typical APC preparation from the Harvest platelet concentrate system:

Composition of APC when prepared on the Harvest SmartPrep System

	Whole Blood	Harvest APC
WBCs	5.83 × 10³/μL	21.09 × 10³/μL
Mononuclear cells	34.78%	75.54%
Granulocytes	65.22%	24.46%
CD34+ (total cells delivered)		171,571

Kevy, S., et al., “Defining the Composition and Healing Effect of Platelet-Rich Plasma for Regenerative Medicine.” Poster Session; 2010, presented at: TERMIS-Americas.

Not all APC is Created Equal

APC produced using the Harvest SmartPrep system delivers the highest platelet concentration and yield when compared to 12 other APC systems, as shown by the data here.