Tissue engineering and organ structure: a vascularized approach to liver and lung

Over the past two decades, great strides have been made in the field of tissue engineering. Many of the initial attempts to develop an engineered tissue construct were based on the concept of seeding cells onto an avascular scaffold. Using advanced manufacturing technologies, the creation of a preformed vascular scaffold has become a reality. This article discusses some of the issues surrounding the development of such a vascular scaffold. We then examine of the challenges associated with applying this scaffold technology to two vital organ constructs: liver and lung.