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The lung-on-a-chip has a membrane made up of airway epithelial cells, to which air is
delivered, and capillary endothelial cells, exposed to a culture medium mimicking blood. A vacuum pump mechanically stretches the membrane.
Combining computer micro-fabrication techniques with tissue engineering, a team at Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering has created a device that mimics the function of a human lung. This living “lung-on-a-chip,” incorporating human lung and blood-vessel cells, reproduces the interface between the alveoli and the bloodstream, using a vacuum pump to simulate breathing mechanics.
Don Ingber, MD, PhD, in Children’s Vascular Biology program and founder of the Wyss Institute, hopes the wafer-sized device can provide a more accurate way to test the lung’s response to infectious agents, airborne particles and toxins. He speculates that this and other organ-on-a-chip systems could reduce the need for drug testing in animals.
Watch videos: video 1 video 2
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