Optimal layout of an artificial vascular system with additive manufacturing

The supply of biological tissue with nutrients by an artificial vascular system is a current challenge for Tissue Engineering. At the Fraunhofer IWM the optimal layout of an additively manufactured vascular system was investigated.

When assessing different system, the supply of tissue was taken into account as well as the complexity of the system. When comparable in performance, the simple networks with less bifurcations were favored because of robustness and ease of manufacture.

By combining experiments and simulations the enduser was enabled to develop the optimal branching system.

 

Project: 

BioRap® (FhG), Artivasc3D (EU 7. framework programme, grant agreement n° 263416)

Publication: 

R. Jaeger, J. Courseau, Optimale Auslegung eines künstlichen Adersystems, BioNanoMaterials, (2015), 16(2-3),  p. 81–86

Links: 

www.biorap.de,   www.artivasc.eu

Contact:

Fraunhofer IWM, Dr. Raimund Jaeger, raimund.jaeger@iwm.fraunhofer.de, +49 761 5142 284