Design and fabrication of three-dimensional scaffolds for tissue engineering of human heart valves.
We developed a new fabrication technique for 3-dimensional scaffolds for tissue engineering of human heart valve tissue. A human aortic homograft was scanned with an X-ray computer tomograph. The data derived from the X-ray computed tomogram were processed by a computer-aided design program to reconstruct a human heart valve 3-dimensionally. Based on this stereolithographic model, a silicone valve model resembling a human aortic valve was generated. By taking advantage of the thermoplastic properties of polyglycolic acid as scaffold material, we molded a 3-dimensional scaffold for tissue engineering of human heart valves. The valve scaffold showed a deviation of only +/-3-4% in height, length and inner diameter compared with the homograft. The newly developed technique allows fabricating custom-made, patient-specific polymeric cardiovascular scaffolds for tissue engineering without requiring any suture materials.
Schaefermeier
P K
PK
Department of Cardiac Surgery, Laboratory for Tissue Engineering, University Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany. pschaefe@med.lmu.de
Szymanski
D
D
Weiss
F
F
Fu
P
P
Lueth
T
T
Schmitz
C
C
Meiser
B M
BM
Reichart
B
B
Sodian
R
R
D001021:Aortic Valve / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D001705:Bioprosthesis; D019149:Bioreactors; D006350:Heart Valve Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008422:Materials Testing; D011091:Polyesters; D011100:Polyglycolic Acid; D011474:Prosthesis Design; D011673:Pulsatile Flow; D023822:Tissue Engineering; D054457:Tissue Scaffolds; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D011091:Polyesters; C107955:poly(4-hydroxybutanoate); D011100:Polyglycolic Acid