Pouch-Like Construct for Preventing Heart Distension

A method for the preparation of a pouch-like construct suitable for enclosing at least part of a heart of a mammal and comprising engineered tissue, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

• a) providing a matrix having a recess in one surface of the matrix, which recess has desired dimensions corresponding to desired dimensions of the pouch-like construct's exterior to be formed,
• b) providing a body having dimensions corresponding to desired dimensions of the pouch-like construct's interior to be formed,
• c) disposing a body in the recess of the matrix such that the body is spaced from walls of the recess to form a space between the body and the walls of the recess corresponding to the desired dimensions of the construct,
• d) disposing a reconstitution mixture in the recess, which reconstitution mixture comprises mammalian cells and suitable scaffold material which can be incubated to form an engineered tissue construct,
• e) contacting the reconstitution mixture disposed within the recess with a culture medium suitable for culturing the cells in the reconstitution mixture,
• f) incubating the reconstitution mixture until a tissue construct forms within the matrix recess between the body and the matrix,
• g) removing the body with the tissue construct adherent thereto from the matrix recess, and
• h) separating the tissue construct from the body.