Engineers from Texas A&M University (TAMU) have developed a groundbreaking tiny chip that mimics real human blood vessels,
Scientists in the U.S. have created a tiny, innovative chip that mimics real human blood vessel structures to transform how medicine understands, diagnoses, and treats cardiovascular conditions.The microfluidic device, developed by Abhishek Jain, PhD, an associate professor in biomedical engineering at Texas A& M University , and Jennifer Lee, BSc, a biomedical engineering master’s student, is capable of modeling aneurysms, stenosis, and branching vessels.
Inspired by the complex architecture of real human blood vessels, which bend, branch, constrict, and expand in ways that dramatically affect blood flow, the team set out to improve laboratory models, which had replicated vessels as straight, oversimplified lines for years. Now, the so-called vessel-chip not only simulates blood vessels at a microscopic scale but can also provide unprecedented insight into vascular disease mechanisms and advance drug discovery.A different approachAccording to Lee, who designed the advanced vessel-chip, the technology can be tailored to individual patients and offers a non-animal alternative for pharmaceutical testing and blood flow research.“There are branched vessels, or aneurysms that have sudden expansion, and then stenosis that restricts the vessel,” the master’s student explained, adding that the different vessel types cause significant changes in the blood flow, which in turn influences cellular behavior and the progression of vascular disease. “That’s what we wanted to model.”Abhishek Jain, PhD, an associate professor in biomedical engineering at TAMU, and Jennifer Lee, a biomedical engineering master’s student, with the chip.Credit: Texas A&M EngineeringThe chip reportedly uses human endothelial cells, which make up the lining of the blood vessel. The team, however, hopes to include other cells to see the effects of their interactions and blood flow.“We can now start learning about vascular disease in ways we’ve never been able to before,” Jain said, noting that the structures can even become living systems once actual cellular and tissue material are integrated into them. “These are the sites where vascular diseases develop, so understanding them is critical.”Tiny chip, huge possibilitiesAs an undergraduate honors student, Lee began her journey into chip-based bioengineering. She said the research marks a significant step toward more physiologically accurate, patient-specific testing models.“Jennifer demonstrated perseverance, curiosity, and creativity and started taking up research projects very quickly,” Jain said, adding that despite having little prior knowledge of organ-on-a-chip technology, Lee quickly transitioned into leading high-impact research through the university’s fast-track master’s program.Meanwhile, Lee emphasized the chip’s broad potential. “We are progressing and creating what we call the fourth dimensionality of organs-on-a-chip, where we not only focus on the cells and the flow, but this interaction of cells and flow in more complex architectural states, which is a new direction in the field,” she said.Abhishek Jain, PhD, and Jennifer Lee have replicated the varying blood vessel shapes on the vessel-chip.Credit: Courtesy of Abhishek Jain, PhDReflecting on her experience, the student noted that the research provided valuable opportunities to engage with peers, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers in a supportive and intellectually stimulating setting. “You’re able to learn teamwork and communication, work ethic, and just trying different things out,” she concluded in a press release. “I think it’s such a valuable experience that students have available. We have such good faculty research labs.” The U.S. Army Medical Research Program, NASA, NIH, and the FDA have backed the study. It was published in the journal Lab on a Chip.
Chip Health Innovation Medicine Research Science Study Texas Texas A&Amp M University
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