New placenta-on-a-chip device offers potential pregnancy research insights

A group of international researchers have been able to develop a placenta-on-a-chip device that can potentially revolutionise pregnancy research.

Created by an interdisciplinary team led by the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the chip consists of  a semi-permeable membrane between two tiny chambers, one filled with placental cells from the mother and the other filled with foetal cells derived from an umbilical cord.

The researchers tested its function by evaluating the transfer of glucose from the maternal compartment to the foetal compartment, with the successful transfer of glucose in the device mirroring what occurred in the body.

It is hoped that the creation of this technology will help clinicians better assess placental health and ultimately improve pregnancy outcomes.

Study author Dr Roberto Romero, chief of the NICHD's perinatology research branch, said: "The chip may allow us to do experiments more efficiently and at a lower cost than animal studies. With further improvements, we hope this technology may lead to better understanding of normal placental processes and placental disorders."