3D printed heart on a computer chip could spell the end for drug testing on animals
- 8 years ago
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS — Harvard scientists have developed a 3D printed heart on a computer chip, which can be used to study heart conditions without testing medical treatments on animals.
The heart-on-chip is composed of a small piece of flexible polymer with integrated sensors that contains living human heart cells, which can mimic the physiological response of a human heart.
The sensors collect data on the beating of the heart-on-chip, which can be used to study how tissue responds to drugs or toxins.
Scientists from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University believe the technology is a more accurate alternative to testing drugs on animals, and hope it can decrease the number of animals used for testing.
“We are pushing the boundaries of three-dimensional printing by developing and integrating multiple functional materials within printed devices,” Jennifer Lewis, senior co-author of the study said in a press release.
Other organs, including bones, lungs, the liver, and gut can also be made into organs on a chip.
However, it is noted that obtaining data from these chips is costly and can only be done using high-speed cameras or microscopy.
The heart-on-chip is composed of a small piece of flexible polymer with integrated sensors that contains living human heart cells, which can mimic the physiological response of a human heart.
The sensors collect data on the beating of the heart-on-chip, which can be used to study how tissue responds to drugs or toxins.
Scientists from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University believe the technology is a more accurate alternative to testing drugs on animals, and hope it can decrease the number of animals used for testing.
“We are pushing the boundaries of three-dimensional printing by developing and integrating multiple functional materials within printed devices,” Jennifer Lewis, senior co-author of the study said in a press release.
Other organs, including bones, lungs, the liver, and gut can also be made into organs on a chip.
However, it is noted that obtaining data from these chips is costly and can only be done using high-speed cameras or microscopy.