PFI-TT: Automated Manufacturing of Blood Vessels

这个PFI项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是自动化制造活血管的一种新的创新方法。这项研究将在自动化过程中产生新的科学和工程知识，以制造新类别的生活产品。这些基础知识将有助于开启下一个高价值生物制造时代，是维持我们制造业经济竞争优势所必需的。作为一种产品，人造活血血管至少在两个领域具有巨大的商业潜力。人造血管将是在医疗设备测试中取代动物使用的一种更便宜的替代方案。人造血管将用于治疗和修复心血管疾病。拟议的项目将设计、建造和测试一种新的全自动制造微小活血管的系统，以减少在测试医疗设备时使用动物，并最终用于治疗心脏病患者。为了开发这种自动化制造系统，该项目将在专门设计的模具中添加人类细胞，以形成圆形甜甜圈形状的活建筑部件。机器人将被编程，一个接一个地取出这些甜甜圈形状的活建筑部件，并将它们放入一个特别设计的漏斗中，在那里堆叠的甜甜圈将形成一根长管或活的血管。建成的血管将被安置在生物反应器中，生物反应器控制温度，并使肉汤循环，以提供滋养和成熟活血管的营养，直到它们准备好使用。这一新的自动化过程将制造用于研究、测试和临床应用的活血管。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this PFI project is a new and innovative method for the automated manufacture of living blood vessels. This research will yield new scientific as well as engineering knowledge into the automation processes to manufacture a new class of living products. Such fundamental knowledge will help usher in the next era of high-value bio-manufacturing and is needed to sustain the competitive advantage of our manufacturing economy. As a product, manufactured living bloods vessels have significant commercial potential in at least two areas. Manufactured blood vessels will be a less expensive alternative that replaces the use of animals in the testing of medical devices. Manufactured blood vessels will be used to treat and repair cardiovascular disease.The proposed project will design, build and test a new fully automatic system for the manufacture of small living blood vessels to be used for reducing the use of animals in the testing of medical devices and to be ultimately used to treat patients with heart disease. To develop this automated manufacturing system, the project will add human cells to a specially designed mold to form living building parts in the shape of round donuts. A robot will be programmed to retrieve these donut-shaped living building parts one-by-one and drop them into a specially designed funnel where the stack of donuts will form a long tube or living blood vessel. The built blood vessels will be housed in a bioreactor tank that controls the temperature and recirculates the broth needed to provide the nutrients that nourish and mature the living blood vessels until they are ready for use. This novel automated process will manufacture living blood vessels for research testing and for clinical application.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.