Novel Imaging Technique Paves Way for Advancements in Bone Tissue Engineering

Novel Imaging Technique Paves Way for Advancements in Bone Tissue Engineering

Novel Imaging Technique Paves Way for Advancements in Bone Tissue Engineering


Fischell Department of Bioengineering (BioE) Associate Professor Yu Chen was recently awarded a four-year, $1.29 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) Research Project Grant (R01) for developing a new system capable of non-invasive, three-dimensional imaging of engineered tissue.

Along with John Fisher, BioE Professor and Associate Chair, and John Caccamese, Jr., Associate Professor of Oral-Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical System and University of Maryland Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, Chen is working on a new system capable of quantitatively imaging 3D cell behavior.

Bone tissue engineering scaffolds are used in a wide variety of clinical settings to promote bone repair and regeneration. As such, these scaffolds act as vehicles for the delivery of progenitor cell populations or support structures for surrounding tissue ingrowth. Often, the properties of the scaffold – such as composition, porosity, pore size, and pore interconnectivity – play a determining role in the success of the engineered tissue. To improve tissue regeneration and integration, for instance, engineers must design scaffolds that mimic surrounding tissue morphology, structure, and function, and improve mechanical stability between the implanted engineered tissue and the surrounding native bone.

“Three-dimensional cell-based tissue grafts have been increasingly useful in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine,” Chen said. “A critical building block in tissue engineering is the scaffold, which can act as the supporting medium to deliver cell populations and induce ingrowth of vessels and surrounding tissues. Therefore, it is necessary to develop tools to characterize the architecture of the scaffold.”

Currently, however, there are no non-destructive methods of analyzing engineered tissue structures and stem cell functions beyond the reach of traditional microscopy. This means, researchers have had limited ability to characterize cells located deep inside scaffolds.

In fact, today’s most frequently used tissue scaffold characterization techniques present a number of disadvantages including complex preparation procedures and risks of damaging the tissue scaffold. Most techniques are invasive, discrete methods of analysis, while some are expensive and involve a long data acquisition process.

To combat these challenges, Chen and his fellow researchers are developing a new platform that utilizes optical coherence tomography (OCT) and fluorescence laminar optical tomography (FLOT) for characterization of cell-scaffold interaction. OCT is a non-invasive imaging technique that uses light to capture micrometer-resolution, three-dimensional images of biological tissue, while FLOT is a high-resolution imaging technique that uses fluorescent light to produce images of tissue.

Generally, engineered tissue exists as a combination of living cells and the supporting scaffold. OCT is able to visualize the internal structure of the scaffold in 3D, enabling subsequent image processing to quantitatively investigate characteristics such as pore size, porosity, and inter-connectivity. Meanwhile, FLOT is able to visualize cell viability, proliferation, distribution, and differentiation within the scaffold over time and space.

As such, the combined OCT/FLOT system offers promise that researchers will be able to evaluate both structural and cellular information simultaneously to study cell-scaffold interaction and collect feedback on the design of scaffolds in order to achieve optimal cellular function. This means that the system proposed by Chen’s research team could have a tremendous impact on how engineers construct and evaluate tissue scaffolds, and could pave the way for major advancements in bone tissue engineering.

The team’s efforts demonstrate how multi-disciplinary collaboration can produce revolutionary advancements in engineering. As an Mpowering the State research initiative, Chen and Fisher of the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., are able to work across campuses with University of Maryland Medical System/Baltimore College of Dental Surgery’s Caccamese, who contributes clinical expertise to the project.

More information about the Mpowering the State initiative is available online

Related Articles:
Catherine K. Kuo Named President-Elect of TERMIS Americas Chapter
Maryland Engineering’s John Fisher Appointed MPower Professor
UMD Bioengineers Take New Approach to Engineering Heart Tissue
Fisher to Receive 2020 Society for Biomaterials Award
NIH Awards $2.8M Grant to Further Dementia Research
4D Bioprinting Smart Constructs for the Heart
3D-printed Tissues May Keep Athletes in Action
Engineering Solutions for Burn Wounds
Fischell Department of Bioengineering Launches REU Program
Three BIOE Professors Awarded NIH R01s in as Many Months

September 3, 2015


Prev   Next

Current Headlines

Three UMD Students Receive SAMPE Leadership Awards

International Energy Cooperation Center Established at University of Maryland

Maryland Researchers Awarded $1.5 Million to Pioneer Batteries for Electric Rail and Maritime Transportation

Researcher’s Pacific Dive Spurred Innovations in Robotics with Machine Intelligence to Create Biodegradable Plastic Substitutes

UMD Professor and Alum Among 2024 VFS Awardees

Agents of Positive Change: Highlighting Women Maryland Engineers

Celebrating Women in Aerospace Engineering: Christine Hartzell

Batteries, Building Efficiency, and More: Innovating in Energy

News Resources

Return to Newsroom

Search News

Archived News

Events Resources

Events Calendar