Muscle Maturation Device

About

In the tissue engineering field, tissue modeling is often used to determine the effects of different drugs on human tissue. At the moment, no skeletal muscle tissue models exist that accurately mimic native human muscle morphology and function due to a lack of maturation. To solve this problem, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) have developed a novel device that mechanically stimulates three dimensional in vitro human skeletal muscle tissue, to improve maturation. In this novel device, 96 human skeletal muscle constructs can be stimulated simultaneously in an incubator, which fits the standard in the industry. After mechanical stimulation, the 96 mature human skeletal muscle constructs can serve as a basis for testing candidate drugs affecting muscle fatigue and strength in addition to other attributes that may affect muscle functionality. First of its kind, this device allows researchers to conduct multiple tests on tissue that behaves like human tissue muscle. Through testing, researchers will be able to determine the effects of certain drugs on muscle function, strength, weakness, etc. This novel device will help aid in development of drugs while also helping to determine pre-clinical drug efficacy. Additionally, the device can work to test patient specific skeletal muscle tissue with certain muscular diseases against therapies meant to cure the specific disease. Key Features Tissue modeling that simulates human tissue muscle 96 well plate capability for multiple drug testing Aid in the drug development process Allows for testing of existing diseases against potential curing drugs