Next Generation Experimental Models of Venous Physiology and Pathology: Examining Human Relevance in Recapitulating...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Cardiovascular Research
• Translational Medicine

Background:

• Venous return relies on vessel compliance, valve function, and muscle pumps.
• Immobility, valve issues, or inflammation disrupt venous flow, worsening disease.
• Existing animal models lack human venous geometry and hemodynamic relevance.

Purpose of the Study:

• Critically evaluate current in vitro and in silico venous models.
• Identify limitations in replicating physiological flow, endothelial responses, and thrombus dynamics.
• Propose future directions for enhanced venous model development.

Main Methods:

• Systematic comparison of model design parameters, cellular configurations, and flow regimes.
• Review of current non-animal models (NAMs) for venous research.
• Analysis of gaps in translational relevance of existing NAMs.

Main Results:

• Current NAMs have limitations in reproducing human venous hemodynamics and disease progression.
• Key gaps exist in capturing individualized flow, immune-endothelial interactions, and thrombus dynamics.
• Hybrid patient-specific modeling and digital twins offer promising advancements.

Conclusions:

• Venous NAMs require improvement for accurate thrombosis and disease modeling.
• Hybrid patient-specific models integrated with imaging data can capture individualized hemodynamics.
• Validation strategies are essential to link NAM outputs with clinical data for personalized therapeutics.