Melissa Andrews

Combines cells,

engineering, biology,

and medicine

Repairs or replaces part

of or whole tissues

It will likely revolutionize

the world

Provides temporary support

Purposes:1. Allows cells to attach

and then transfer2. Allows for the vital

cell nutrients to diffuse

3. Make use of some mechanical and biological influences

Important both in vitro and ex vitro

Needs to be biodegradable and flexible especially for a heart

Picture used specifically for heart repair

Autologous cells are obtained and placed into the bioreactor

Scaffold is then covered with the new cells

The scaffold is then transplanted into the body

Ratner, a UW professor of bioengineering

Ratner built a new and different scaffold that will be injected the heart.

The scaffold supports and regulates the muscle growth.

In the future, the procedure would be done before scar tissue forms.

Many more heart scaffold and tissue patches are being developed.

Others can involve different types of cells along with the cardiac muscles and are much more expensive.

He found that it took 4 weeks for the scaffold to degrade.

Heart cells in a culture dish do not have a blood supply.

Therefore getting blood to those cells immediately is essential.

Size of scaffold implanted – 1/3 of a mm wide by 4 mm long

Resources 1. "Scaffolding for Heart Stem Cells after a Heart Attack." The Daily

Heart Beat — Reliable Information and Commentary by a Doctor/Heart Attack Survivor. Web. 7Nov. 2011. <http://heartcurrents.com/scaffolding-heart-stem-cells-heart-attack/>.

2. Tissue Engineering and Wound Healing: An Overview: History of Tissue Engineering. Health Management Publications, Inc., 2007. Web. 2011.

3. Davis, Ph.D., Kevin. "Advances in Cardiac Tissue Engineering and Cardiac Tissue Replacement Modalitie." Tissue Engineering. By Scott Seidman. 2002. Web. 8 Nov. 2011.

<http://sa.rochester.edu/jur/issues/fall2003/krebs.pdf>.

2. "Heart Transplants: Statistics." American Heart Association. Web. 18 Feb. 2011. <http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4588>.

5. "NIH Definition of Tissue Engineering/Regenerative Medicine." Tissue-Engineering. Web. 8 Nov. 2011. <http://www.tissue-engineering.net/index.php?seite=whatiste>