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Design of a New Pulsatile Bioreactor for Tissue Engineered Aortic Heart Valve Formation
Author(s) -
Dumont Kris,
Yperman Jessa,
Verbeken Erik,
Segers Patrick,
Meuris Bart,
Vandenberghe Stijn,
Flameng Willem,
Verdonck Pascal R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
artificial organs
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.684
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1525-1594
pISSN - 0160-564X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1525-1594.2002.06931_3.x
Subject(s) - pulsatile flow , compliance (psychology) , afterload , biomedical engineering , aortic valve , ventricle , bioreactor , cardiology , materials science , medicine , chemistry , psychology , social psychology , organic chemistry
Evidence has been gathered that biomechanical factors have a significant impact on cell differentiation and behavior in in vitro cell cultures. The aim of this bioreactor is to create a physiological environment in which tissue engineered (TE) aortic valves seeded with human cells can be cultivated during a period of several days. The bioreactor consists of 2 major parts: the left ventricle (LV) and the afterload consisting of a compliance, representing the elastic function of the large arteries, and in series a resistance, mimicking the arterioles and capillaries. The TE aortic valve is placed between the LV and the compliance. With controllable resistance, compliance, stroke volume and frequency, and hydrodynamic conditions can be changed over a wide physiological range. This study resulted in a prototype of a compact pulsatile flow system for the creation of TE aortic valves. In addition a biocompatibility study of the used materials is performed.