title: Tracheobronchial bio-engineering: biotechnology fulfilling unmet medical needs.
abstract: The development of substitutes for the human trachea or its bronchial tree represents a niche application in the rapidly advancing scientific field of Regenerative Medicine. Despite a comparatively small research foundation in the field of tracheo-bronchial bioengineering, four different approaches have already been translated into clinical settings and applied in patients. This can be attributed to the lack of established treatment options for a small group of patients with extensive major airway disease. In this review, the clinical background and tissue-specific basics of tracheo-bronchial bioengineering will be evaluated. Focusing on the clinical applications of bioengineered tracheal tissues, a "top-down" or "bedside-to-bench" analysis is performed in order to guide future basic and clinical research activities for airway bioengineering.
authors.affiliation: Robert-Bosch-Hospital GmbH, Schillerhoehe Hospital, Department of General Thoracic Surgery, Gerlingen, Germany. thorsten.walles@klinik-schillerhoehe.de
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Walles
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001698:Biomedical Engineering / Q000379:methods; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods; D001980:Bronchi / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*; D048091:Guided Tissue Regeneration / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D044968:Regenerative Medicine / Q000379:methods; D023822:Tissue Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D014132:Trachea / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*