Implants for osteochondral repair using cell printing
A problem presented at the UK MMSG Southampton 2007.
Categories
- Presented by:
- (University Medical Center, University of Utrecht)
- Participants:
Problem Description
Cartilage tissue repair procedures currently under development, aim to create a "construct" that can be grown in a bio-reactor and that mimics the real tissue. The construct can consist of a scaffold made of strands of material that are set out into a 3D structure using printing technology.
The Study Group should concentrate on determining practical design criteria for the construct structure and bioreactor design that will ensure that the cells in the construct create a suitable distribution of cartilage.
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Study Group Report
Three groups each looked at a different aspect of the problem:
- One considered the mechanical aspects of the problem, starting by calculating the stresses on an individual strand and then extending these results to the whole scaffold and finding the maximum fluid velocity that can be withstood by the structure.
- One modelled the growth of the extracellular matrix (ECM) by considering a single spherical cell that produces matrix elements which diffuse into an homogeneous, isotropic medium and bind with each other to form the ECM.
- One considered the fluid flow and oxygen transport problems, starting from a single strand setup and finally extending this by homogenization to a multiple strand scaffold.
Follow-Up Activities
The following publications have been written as a result of this problem:
- Design criteria for a printed tissue engineering construct: A mathematical homogenization approach
- (2009)
- Journal of Theoretical Biology 259 (3), 489–502.