B7. Materials and Process Challenges to Upscale Fabrication of 3D Tissue Constructs

The fabrication of 3D tissue constructs is one of the most exciting fields in cell biology, materials science, biomedical engineering, and automation technology. Hugh process has been made in the last ten years, but commercial or clinical success stories, where patients have received engineered tissue or organ replacements are rare. Recently, more success has been reported with organ-on-a-chip constructs that are used for drug discovery and testing. Several reasons can be named, why impact of has been limited so far: There are still technical challenges to overcome, like the integration of vasculature to create “thick” tissues, but other challenges that are more related to manufacturing exist. The availability of standardized, high quality bioinks, good sources and high quantities of cells, and appropriate manufacturing equipment limit the progress. In addition, sensors and systems that help to control cell health and tissue maturation are of great interest.

Contributions that focus on manufacturing technologies for tissue and organ fabrication or accelerate clinical application or commercialization are welcome in this symposium.

Proposed Session Topics

• Characterization of bioinks and scaffold materials
• Testing of tissue scaffolds
• Bioreactors and other technologies for cell expansion, maturation, and stem cell differentiation
• Sensors for monitoring and controlling cell and tissue maturity and health
• Organs-on-a-chip for drug discovery and testing

Organizer

• Markus Reiterer, Medtronic, PLC, USA, markus.w.reiterer@medtronic.com