Tissue engineering system for making personalized bone graft
AssigneeThe Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
InventorsGordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Warren Grayson, Keith Yeager
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An anatomically-shaped, human bone graft may be cultivated ex vivo using a bioreactor capable of perfusing large complex porous scaffolds. Scaffolds derived from image-based modeling of a target are seeded with human mesenchymal stem cells and cultivated. A bioreactor configured to house complex three-dimensional scaffold geometries provides controlled flow for perfusion of the cells. Dense uniform cellular growth can be attained throughout the entire scaffold as a result of the medium perfusion. In an embodiment, the bioreactor has a mold into which perfusion medium is pumped under pressure and multiple ports through which the medium exits the mold.
Claims19
A tissue engineering system comprising:
- a porous scaffold matching a shape of a target anatomy of a patient that consists essentially of decellularized bone and is disposed within a three-dimensional vessel with an internal surface;
- wherein the internal surface of the three-dimensional vessel conforms to the shape of the scaffold;
- a bioreactor having a recess configured to receive said vessel and a combination of inlet and outlet ports totaling at least three ports that is configured to accept at least one lumen and wherein the ports are placed to permit flow communication between the at least one lumen and an internal volume defined by the internal surface of said vessel;
- wherein the three-dimensional vessel is disposed within the recess of the bioreactor;
- and
- a flow mechanism configured to:
- introduce a perfusate into the recess of the bioreactor via the at least one inlet port;
- provide at least two different fluid flow rates;
- and circulate the perfusate between the at least one lumen and the internal volume of the vessel;
- and
- wherein placement of the combination of inlet ports and outlet ports are determined by computer-aided modeling and establish a pattern that distributes perfusate throughout said scaffold.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.