When a blood vessel is diseased, damaged, or blocked, a vascular graft is often used to replace it in order to allow blood to flow normally again, in turn permitting adequate oxygen and nutrients to reach the heart. Placing a vascular prosthesis of this sort is a delicate task in and of itself and is further complicated by the lack of suitable synthetic alternatives. Currently, there are no vascular prostheses available for use in clinical settings that have a diameter of less than 4 mm. In addition, there are a number of purposes for which it would be extremely beneficial to have the use of synthetic prosthetics but for which there are currently no available options.
This builds on research being conducted in other areas of tissue engineering that have explored the possibilities for the creation of non-scaffolded tissue generation. The concept behind the non-scaffolded tissue printing has been advanced as key to the creation of a number of biological implant components and uses cells’ natural tendency to clump together and form a spheroidal structure. Among the authors of this paper is Koichi Nakayama from the Fusion Graduate School of Science and Engineering at Saga University who developed a Bio-3D printer system that would use these spheroids as if they were components of a filament and print them on to each other to create a three-dimensional structure.
“We developed a novel method to create scaffold-free small caliber tubular tissue from MCSs using a ‘Bio-3D printer’-based system. We successfully implanted the tubular tissue into rats and showed that the inner luminal surface of the structure was covered with endothelial cells after implantation. Although several studies have attempted to use MCSs for tissue-engineered scaffold-free artificial vessels, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to show endothelial cells which cover the inner surface of the tubular tissue fabricated with a technology of regeneration and tissue-engineering when implanted in vivo.”
So, next time you see a rat, you might just want to thank it; their species has made possible a number of advances in medical technology.
Discuss these findings in the 3D Printed Vascular Prostheses Research forum thread over at 3DPB.com.