Carmen J. Gil
BME PhD Defense Presentation

Date: 2024-04-23
Time: 4:00-6:00pm
Location / Meeting Link: HSRB II , N600 / Zoom: https://emory.zoom.us/j/92782718319

Committee Members:
Vahid Serpooshan, PhD (Advisor); Scott Hollister, PhD; Ilanit Itzhaki, PhD; Prasad Lakshmi Dasi, PhD; Ryan Roeder, PhD


Title: 3D Bioprinting of CT-visible Patient-Specific Cardiac Patches to Regenerate Adult Human Heart

Abstract:
Using multi-material 3D bioprinting and photon counting computed tomography (PCCT) technologies, this project developed a new precision medicine approach to custom-engineer patient and damage-specific vascular patch devices with PCCT visibility. The hypothesis is that cardiac patch devices with customized architecture and vasculature can be fabricated to closely correspond to those of the recipient heart tissue and be incorporated with multiple contrast agents to track various functions of the patch. Aim 1 sought design and development of traceable vascular patch devices and their evaluation both in vitro and in vivo. Aim 2 optimized the design of a vascular network within the patch and assessed the in vitro imaging properties under flow. Aim 3 investigated the function of the bioprinted vascular cardiac patch in vivo. Multiple PCCT-visible cardiac bioinks, consisting of distinct contrast agent-laden hydrogel formulations, were used to bioprint patch structures that closely correspond with the geometry of the target MI tissue. PCCT distinguished the distinct contrast agents to assess patch location, integration/degradation, and perfusion, both in vitro and in a rat model of MI. In summary, establishing this novel, high-fidelity, theranostic platform with remarkably high precision, tunability, and reproducibility would be paradigm changing and open new prospects for a broad range of tissue engineering applications.