Biomechanical loading behaviour of a knee joint distraction device as treatment for osteoarthritis

A Promethean Construct: Formulation of a bioink with human donor-derived liver dECM & liver organoids

Liver diseases account for two million deaths worldwide each year, and current treatments are limited. 3D bioprinting is a promising technology, that has recently been investigated to tackle this challenge. However, the cells and hydrogels used for bioprinting are not human-derived and do not replicate the natural <i>in vivo</i> environment. The...

3D printed smart transtibial prosthesis equipped with temperature and pressure sensory systems

Integration of the sensory systems inside patient-specific medical devices (e.g., implants or prosthesis) can provide additional measurement data at different time points. This can result in improving the traditional designs of those medical devices, and consequently leading to increasing the patient’s comfort and quality of life. By doing...

A Characterization Method for Hard-Soft Material Interfaces in Structural Optimization

The distribution of multiple materials within a single structure is a strategy that various biological systems rely on to achieve outstanding mechanical performances. These biological examples illustrate the effective utilization of hard rigid and soft flexible materials in particular. The proper composition of such hard-soft materials exceeds...

Towards cardiovascular stents fabricated by stereolithography

Currently, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide, and a global ageing population ensures increasing numbers for the foreseeable future. Atherosclerosis, responsible for 80\% of cardiovascular deaths, is nowadays treated with stents, which scaffold the balloon-dilated artery and seals the dissection flaps. In 2016, the...

Response of 3D printed lattice-based spinal fusion cages to static and dynamic loading

Back pain is a major economic problem that can dramatically affect the quality of life. There are many causes that can lead to back pain, but intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a recognised cause. The harmful effect of whole-body vibration (WBV) environment on the human intervertebral disc has been demonstrated to have an increased...

Large bone-implants for osteochondral regeneration, fabrication and ex-vivo testing

The high frequency of osteoarthritis in those aged above 60 years combined with the observing trend of overpopulation leads to increased healthcare costs. To date, clinical treatments seem to be insufficient to restore cartilage and underlying bone degeneration. Bioprinting fabrication techniques constitute a promising approach to mimic and...

Influence of interspace and controlled disorder on bactericidal properties of nanopatterns

Patients with orthopaedic implants often experience implant-associated infections (IAI), one of the most prominent causes for implant failure. IAIs are caused by pathogens adhering to the implant surface. One method to prevent IAIs is through the use of surface topography modifications. Cellular behaviour has been shown to be influenced by...

Repopulating a decellularized liver scaffold with liver-derived organoids in a perfusion-based bioreactor

Over the last decade new methods are explored in the field of tissue engineering to minimize the donor organ shortage. Engineering organs with a complex structure and large vascular network, such as the liver, remain a challenge. Luckily, the decellularization of an organ creates a scaffold that consists of the extracellular matrix (ECM) with...

Calcification & Fibrous Tissue Characteristics in Atherosclerotic Plaques: A Combined Analysis and Modeling Approach

Atherosclerotic plaque rupture is the main cause of acute myocardial infarction and stroke, the two leading causes of death worldwide. Rupture of plaque tissue is a mechanical event, where plaque stress or strain locally exceeds its strength. Biomechanical studies agree with histopathological findings that a large lipid pool and thin fibrous cap...

Bacterial Cellulose as a new biomaterial for bioprosthetic heart valves

As the population ages and the know-how of the medical field progresses, the number of surgical interventions is rapidly expanding. Heart valve replacement surgery is no exception to this phenomenon; every year 280 000 heart valve replacement surgeries are performed worldwide.Despite the success of heart valve replacement surgeries, various...

Bioengineered Skin in Psoriasis Modeling: Investigation of Automated Injection Molding of Dermo-Epidermal Models as compared with Benchmark Manual Fabrication.  

Bioengineered skin was initially developed for clinical application in reconstructive surgery, but nowadays it is also considered as a suitable skin model for research. Research applications range from assessment of cosmetic and pharmaceutical products to the modeling of pathological skin conditions. For example, psoriasis is a complicated skin...

Bone ingrowth and medial tibial collapse analysis using finite element method in cementless tibial component of primary total knee arthroplasty

Our ageing, and increasingly overweight population demands better implant designs and testing methods. More realistic finite element method (FEM) models are a great approach to reduce costs of the implant design process. FEM models could be used to evaluate implant performance against lack of bone ingrowth and medial tibial collapse. Failed bone...