Biomedical researchers at the University of Rochester https://www.rochester.edu are developing an alternative organ-on-a-chip technology by using tissue samples from a human patient to mimic how a disease or disorder may occur in that patient.
The researchers are specifically studying how to build technology to predict the course of tendon injuries in individual patients and specifically use technology to address scarring from a tendon injury especially after surgery to repair the damage. To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, the Rochester Project will be the first organ-on-a-chip platform designed for modeling scar formation in tendons.
The research team includes sensor scientists, orthopedic surgeons, and immunologists that are trying to help clinicians better predict whether a patient is likely to develop debilitating scar tissue, and if so, then determine which therapeutic drug will work best for their patient.
The research team is working closely with the University of Rochester’s Center for Musculoskeletal Research along with the Department of Biomedical Engineering https://www/hajim.rochester.edu/bme to develop a multidisciplinary approach.
The research funding is supported by a $3.8 million grant from NIH’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), https://ncats.nih.gov. The grants are being administered through the program “Clinical Trials on a Chip, being led by NCATS in conjunction with other NIH institutes and centers, including the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
A major goal for funding this grant program is to develop 3-D platforms engineered to support living human tissues and cells and mimic complex biological functions of organs and systems. This hopefully will help determine which patients are most likely to benefit from an investigational therapy prior to initiating clinical trials.