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Updated: Aug 10, 2026
A Novel In Vitro Model of Blast Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: December 21, 2018
Traumatic Brain Injury in a Well: A Modular Three-Dimensional Printed Tool for Inducing Traumatic Brain Injury In
Luise Schlotterose1,2, Megane Beldjilali-Labro2, Gaya Schneider2
1Institute of Anatomy, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany.
Insights
Researchers developed a 3D-printed device for inducing traumatic brain injury (TBI) in cell cultures. This accessible, modular tool models TBI hallmarks and repetitive injuries, advancing research for new treatments.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant global health issue with no FDA-approved treatments.
- Current TBI research models are often complex, expensive, and inaccessible.
- There's a critical need for advanced, user-friendly TBI research tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop an accessible, modular, 3D-printed device for inducing TBI-like injuries in vitro.
- To demonstrate the device's versatility across different cell types and its ability to model repetitive TBI.
- To provide a high-throughput, animal-free platform for TBI research.
Main Methods:
- Designed and constructed a modular, 3D-printed device for TBI induction using pressure shock.
- Applied the device to standard cell-culture tools and various cell types.
- Evaluated the platform's ability to recapitulate key TBI pathological hallmarks.
Main Results:
- The 3D-printed device successfully induced TBI-like injuries in vitro.
- The platform demonstrated efficacy in modeling repetitive TBI and various cell types.
- Key TBI hallmarks, including cell death and decreased neuronal function, were recapitulated.
Conclusions:
- The developed 3D-printed TBI induction device offers an accessible and versatile research tool.
- This platform facilitates high-throughput, in vitro TBI modeling, reducing reliance on animal models.
- The innovation has the potential to accelerate the development of novel TBI treatments.
Abstract:
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major health problem that affects millions of persons worldwide every year among all age groups, mainly young children, and elderly persons. It is the leading cause of death for children under the age of 16 and is highly correlated with a variety of neuronal disorders, such as epilepsy, and neurodegenerative disease, such as Alzheimer's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Over the past few decades, our comprehension of the molecular pathway of TBI has improved, yet despite being a major public health issue, there is currently no U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved treatment for TBI, and a gap remains between these advances and their application to the clinical treatment of TBI. One of the major hurdles for pushing TBI research forward is the accessibility of TBI models and tools. Most of the TBI models require costume-made, complex, and expensive equipment, which often requires special knowledge to operate. In this study, we present a modular, three-dimensional printed TBI induction device, which induces, by the pulse of a pressure shock, a TBI-like injury on any standard cell-culture tool. Moreover, we demonstrate that our device can be used on multiple systems and cell types and can induce repetitive TBIs, which is very common in clinical TBI. Further, we demonstrate that our platform can recapitulate the hallmarks of TBI, which include cell death, decrease in neuronal functionality, axonal swelling (for neurons), and increase permeability (for endothelium). In addition, in view of the continued discussion on the need, benefits, and ethics of the use of animals in scientific research, this in vitro, high-throughput platform will make TBI research more accessible to other labs that prefer to avoid the use of animals yet are interested in this field. We believe that this will enable us to push the field forward and facilitate/accelerate the availability of novel treatments.
