In the research, published in July in the journal Cell Biomaterials, scientists used these "arteries-on-a-chip" to monitor how real blood flows through a patient's carotid arteries, which carry blood to the brain, face and neck. This could enable doctors to identify not just how and what type of clots form in that specific patient, but also determine which medications would be most effective in dealing with the blockage.
"I see this approach being most relevant to difficult clinical cases," said study first author Charles Zhao, a doctoral student at the University of Sydney. "For example, patients who have experienced recurrent events despite treatment, or cases where clinicians have several possible treatment strategies but limited functional information to distinguish between them." Zhao told Live Science in an email.
"When the inner lining of an artery is damaged, material underneath the cells, including collagen, becomes exposed to the blood," Zhao said. A bloodborne protein called von Willebrand factor (VWF) grabs hold of platelets from the flowing blood. Those platelets then stick together and recruit more platelets, building a clot, he said.
In some cases, the growing ball of clotted blood will stay firmly rooted to the artery wall, slightly impeding blood flow but not posing any immediate danger. However, if tiny fragments break off this static clot, they can travel toward the brain, where they risk blocking smaller vessels and thus causing a stroke.
This is where artery-on-a-chip models come in, he said. Rather than relying purely on medical scans, the team's model recreates the exact shape and structure of an individual patient's blood vessels using 3D printing. To create the models, they first use a patient’s existing CT scans to 3D print a plastic replica of their carotid artery, including any narrowing caused by atherosclerosis. Next, the inside of this plastic structure is coated with collagen, and then cells that line the carotid artery get layered on top. Blood is passed through the replica artery, mimicking the speed and pressure of blood flow in the body.
Study co-author Zihao Wang holding an assembled 3D-printed blood vessel device. (Image credit: University of Sydney/Fiona Wolf)The researchers created these models for six patients with different types of arterial damage and used various calculations to understand the impacts of changes in blood flow through the structures.
Related stories
Scientists infected a 'vagina on a chip' with gonorrhea — then cured it with a new antibiotic found by AIScientists developing new 'heart-on-a-chip'New pocket-size model of ALS 'breathes and flows like human tissue'
These functional differences are particularly important when thinking about how best to reduce a person's stroke risk. Some treatments prevent platelets clumping together into clots. Others prevent platelets from sticking to the artery walls, while still others inhibit the key clot-forming protein VWF. The most effective medication for a given patient will therefore depend on how their clot forms and grows, making these new physical models a valuable complement to traditional imaging, Zhao said.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to offer medical advice.
What do you know about the body's hardest-working muscle? Find out with our heart quiz!
Hence then, the article about mini arteries on a chip could help predict a person s risk of stroke was published today ( ) and is available on Live Science ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Mini 'arteries-on-a-chip' could help predict a person's risk of stroke )
Also on site :
- Bessent’s $4 billion bond plan is like ‘rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic given the U.S. national debt of $40 trillion,’ ING says
- Walmart’s Rustic 5-Tier Bookcase Brimming With Farmhouse Charm Is Perfect for Book Lovers and Plant Parents
- 1990 No. 1 Garth Brooks Hit, Reimagined by a Rising Star, Ranked Among the ‘Greatest Country Songs of All Time’