WP3 - In vitro and in silico tissue models
Workpackage Leader: Eefje Verhoelst, MATERIALISE
Basic science research for improved cardiac disease prognosis has been recently boosted by the introduction of new technological advances in tissue modeling techniques. Tissue modeling is here intended as the ability to develop tools for investigating tissue adaptation, growth and remodeling both experimentally and numerically. This information is crucial to predict the long-term effects of therapies, and can be used to formulate suitable models predicting tissue remodeling following combined biomechanical/biochemical stimulation. These models can be used to better understand the progression of diseases and assess risk stratification. Also, they can be combined with image-based, patient-specific numerical models to predict not only the very short-term outcome of different procedures, but also their mid- and long-term results, whose optimization should be the ultimate clinical goal. WP3 of MUSICA will be focused on developing in vitro technologies to study tissue remodeling processes at the cellular level under high throughput and highly controlled conditions. Also, MUSICA will develop numerical models to quantify tissue remodeling, and embed them within patient-specific models of cardiac structures to predict the long-term effects of implantable devices.
WP3 is comprised of the following five tasks/projects:
T3.2 Modeling tools for clinical decision making
T3.4 Development of scaffold and bioreactor technologies for the engineering of heart valve models
T3.5 Development of catheter-based light-enhanced therapies
