Methods
Six hearts were procured from male Yorkshire pigs. During cold ischemia, hearts were mounted on our custom made ESHP circuit and a 3D printed enclosure for the performance of echocardiography with a standard TEE probe. Following perfusion with Langherdorf mode of the unloaded heart, the system was switched into different working modes to allow LV loading and functional assessment: pump supported (SAM) and passive (PAM). Echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular function in the donor hearts was performed in vivo and at 1h of ESHP with SAM, after 4.5h with PAM and after 5.5h with SAM.