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Published on: July 6, 2022
Lab-on-a-Chip for Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathology
Sean Beverung1, Jingwen Wu1, Robert Steward1
1Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
Insights
Lab-on-a-chip technology offers a cost-effective platform for studying cardiovascular diseases. These microdevices enable better understanding of heart cell properties and blood flow, advancing cardiovascular research.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Cardiovascular Research
- Microfluidics
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases are a leading global cause of mortality.
- Lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technologies provide a versatile and affordable research tool.
- Existing research utilizes LOC for studying conditions like peripheral artery disease, arteriosclerosis, and aortic stenosis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review microdevices developed for studying cardiovascular physiology and pathology.
- To highlight the application of LOC in understanding cardiovascular diseases.
- To discuss the future potential of LOC in cardiovascular research.
Main Methods:
- Focus on microdevices designed for cardiovascular research.
- Integration of mammalian cells into organ-mimicking structures.
- Utilizing LOC to study electrical-biomechanical properties of cardiomyocytes and blood flow effects on vasculature.
Main Results:
- LOC enables detailed study of cardiomyocyte electrical-biomechanical properties.
- Microdevices facilitate understanding of blood flow's influence on the human vasculature.
- These studies enhance the general understanding of various cardiovascular diseases.
Conclusions:
- Lab-on-a-chip technologies are crucial for advancing cardiovascular disease research.
- Microdevices offer unique insights into cardiovascular physiology and pathology.
- The field shows significant potential for future breakthroughs in understanding and treating heart conditions.
Abstract:
Lab-on-a-chip technologies have allowed researchers to acquire a flexible, yet relatively inexpensive testbed to study one of the leading causes of death worldwide, cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular diseases, such as peripheral artery disease, arteriosclerosis, and aortic stenosis, for example, have all been studied by lab-on-a-chip technologies. These technologies allow for the integration of mammalian cells into functional structures that mimic vital organs with geometries comparable to those found in vivo. For this review, we focus on microdevices that have been developed to study cardiovascular physiology and pathology. With these technologies, researchers can better understand the electrical-biomechanical properties unique to cardiomyocytes and better stimulate and understand the influence of blood flow on the human vasculature. Such studies have helped increase our understanding of many cardiovascular diseases in general; as such, we present here a review of the current state of the field and potential for the future.
