Innovative applications of an ex vivo vascular bioreactor

Vascular bioreactors are ex vivo systems which host an isolated preserved blood vessel and can play an important role for investigating physiology and pathology of vessel disease. They can also be used for testing novel treatments, combining the advantages of in vivo and in vitro models. Despite their potential, the use of vascular bioreactors has not reached a relevant position in the testing strategies yet and it usually focusses on a single application. The aim of this dissertation was to promote general use of bioreactors in vascular medicine research as well in the development of new diagnostic tools, new devices and tissue-engineered solutions. This work first focused on using an innovative ex vivo vascular bioreactor to culture arteries from slaughterhouse animals under physiologically relevant conditions. Methods to alter arterial biomechanical properties were then explored and aneurysm pathology was induced and treated with a stent-graft in the bioreactor. The bioreactor was also used to investigate vasomotor responses and intravascular imaging effect on arteries. In addition, investigation of a novel vascular prosthesis paved the road for more extensive use of the bioreactor for tissue engineering applications. This research showed that a vascular bioreactor can be designed and operated as a versatile and comprehensive platform which potentially enables large scale use for research and medical device testing.