Using Tissue Engineering To Treat Heart Defects
by andreas on Nov.03, 2008, under cardiology
A confocal micrograph depicts a honeycomb scaffold
A new scaffold developed at MIT could be seeded with stem cells or live heart cells to treat heart damage or congenital heart defects. The scaffold would gradually dissolve leaving tissue in its wake. The tissue is expected to be able to replicate the properties of the heart’s own tissue.
According to Lisa E. Freed, a researcher in the Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, the scaffold could be made with custom structural mechanical properties.
A scanning electron micrograph depicts a scaffold for cardiac tissue engineering magnified 100x. Image courtesy of G.C. Engelmayr, Jr.
