Designing a Device to Mechanically Stretch Heart Valve Microtissues

De Franca Araujo, Maria Victoria; Mattson, Nicole Elizabeth; Tedtsen, Trinity A.; Thompson, Lauren F.

Student Work

Designing a Device to Mechanically Stretch Heart Valve Microtissues Public

Tissue engineered heart valves are a promising solution to current problems with heart valve replacements. However, TEHVs contract when implanted. This project aims to design a device to mechanically stretch heart valve microtissues to test how conditioning can affect this contraction. This design adapted the current method used in the Billiar lab to form heart valve microtissues suspended between a fixed PDMS post and mobile stainless steel needle. A linear actuator moves the needles to stretch the tissues in increments. Stretch can be monitored optically and forces can be calculated to understand the effect of conditioning. The final design was proven conceptually but further tests with tissue samples should be completed.

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