Bioengineered blood vessels created for medical applications

Scientists have developed a new type of bioengineered blood vessel grafts to make delicate microsurgeries easier and safer.

Created by researchers at Boston University, the tiny vessels offer properties compatible with natural human blood vessels and are strong enough to be used in parts of the body where exceptionally small vessels are needed, while also being easy to manipulate.

Collagen tubes were used for this purpose after it was demonstrated that they were compatible with a rat's vascular system and connected seamlessly, without leaking or causing blockage.

Since these new engineered vessels offer diameters smaller than was previously possible, they can be connected to tiny arteries in the body, including those in the fingers, when attaching artificial implants or carrying out delicate replantation surgeries.

Study senior author Dr Joe Tien, professor of biomedical engineering at Boston University, said: "It is what we have been working to achieve for the last fifteen years: to be able to create engineered, vascularised tissues that can be surgically connected to a host circulation."

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