" Imaging Systems for the Quality Control of Tissue-Engineered Constructs "
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Abstract: Recent advances in tissue engineering resulted in the first fully biological tissue-engineered blood vessel made exclusively from the patient's own cells. This project is at an advanced stage, entering clinical studies with human patients. At this time, the need to characterize the tissue-engineered constructs becomes even more pressing. Unfortunately, standard clinical modalities (CT, MRI, and ultrasound) fail to meet the demands for high tissue contrast and high resolution. In this talk, laser-optical methods, including optical coherence tomography, optical transillumination tomography and scattered-light confocal scanning will be discussed; their applicability to tissue engineering quality control as well as options to integrate the optical systems into the manufacturing process.