Toward a patient-specific tissue engineered vascular graft. (15th March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Best, Cameron; Strouse, Robert; Hor, Kan; Pepper, Victoria; Tipton, Amy; Kelly, John; Shinoka, Toshiharu; Breuer, Christopher
• Is Part Of: Journal of tissue engineering. Volume 9(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-03-15
• Subjects: Tissue-engineered vascular graft -- 3D-printing -- Fontan operation -- patient-specific modeling -- cell seeding; Tissue engineering -- Periodicals; 612.028
• DOI: 10.1177/2041731418764709
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2041-7314

Abstract

Integrating three-dimensional printing with the creation of tissue-engineered vascular grafts could provide a readily available, patient-specific, autologous tissue source that could significantly improve outcomes in newborns with congenital heart disease. Here, we present the recent case of a candidate for our tissue-engineered vascular graft clinical trial deemed ineligible due to complex anatomical requirements and consider the application of three-dimensional printing technologies for a patient-specific graft. We 3D-printed a closed-disposable seeding device and validated that it performed equivalently to the traditional open seeding technique using ovine bone marrow–derived mononuclear cells. Next, our candidate's preoperative imaging was reviewed to propose a patient-specific graft. A seeding apparatus was then designed to accommodate the custom graft and 3D-printed on a commodity fused deposition modeler. This exploratory feasibility study represents an important proof of concept advancing progress toward a rationally designed patient-specific tissue-engineered vascular graft for clinical application.