LONDON: In what has been described as a ‘medical breakthrough’, scientists have successfully grafted artificial veins and arteries onto human tissue in a lab environment. They are now a step closer to actually using synthetic veins and arteries in a coronary artery bypass surgery.
The team combined man-made materials with human cells to make it elastic and durable enough for attachment to the host tissue.
The development, described in the latest issue of the FASEB Journal, could save millions worldwide, according to editor-in-chief Gerald Weissmann.
He described the successful fusing of living cells to non-living substances that actually led to healing by forming a stronger bond as “tantalising”.
This, he said, might even be called a step toward “cyborg engineering”.
For the study, the surgeons developed an elastic scaffold of polyurethane – a polymer used in adhesives, rubber and paint. Using this scaffold, they incorporated human vascular smooth-muscle cells and epithelial cells, which cover internal organs and surfaces in the body.
Then, blood flow was simulated in the artificial grafts to test their durability. Scientists found that as the pulsing fluid flow slowly increased, the artificial graft’s performance actually improved.
“It is only a matter of time before human tissues can be engineered to be at least as good as the originals, and this study moves us toward that reality,” Weissmann said. IANS
The team combined man-made materials with human cells to make it elastic and durable enough for attachment to the host tissue.
The development, described in the latest issue of the FASEB Journal, could save millions worldwide, according to editor-in-chief Gerald Weissmann.
He described the successful fusing of living cells to non-living substances that actually led to healing by forming a stronger bond as “tantalising”.
This, he said, might even be called a step toward “cyborg engineering”.
For the study, the surgeons developed an elastic scaffold of polyurethane – a polymer used in adhesives, rubber and paint. Using this scaffold, they incorporated human vascular smooth-muscle cells and epithelial cells, which cover internal organs and surfaces in the body.
Then, blood flow was simulated in the artificial grafts to test their durability. Scientists found that as the pulsing fluid flow slowly increased, the artificial graft’s performance actually improved.
“It is only a matter of time before human tissues can be engineered to be at least as good as the originals, and this study moves us toward that reality,” Weissmann said. IANS
