Bioengineers have developed a method for creating custom-made synthetic vascular grafts in minutes.
They believe that one day it could be fast enough for surgeons to manufacture an implant when needed immediately in the operating room.
The team, from the lab of Kevin Kit Parker, the Tarr Family Professor of Bioengineering and Applied Physics in the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), used focused rotary jet spinning to assemble liquid polymers into ultra-thin fibre scaffolds that resemble natural blood vessels.
The research could enable surgeons to perform time-sensitive, personalised medical treatments in the operating room.
Traumatic injuries often involve damaged blood vessels that require immediate repair.
New research from Harvard bioengineers aims to make these critical, time-sensitive treatments faster and more personalised, with the potential to save lives and advance biomedical technology.
The work, led by Michael Peters, a former PhD student in Parker’s lab and now a visiting scholar at SEAS, is featured on a recent cover of Advanced Materials.
Current vascular surgical practice relies on so-called autologous grafts taken from elsewhere in a patient’s body – an invasive procedure that may not match the size, shape, or quality required of the injured vessel.
To address these limitations, the team used an additive manufacturing platform they call Focused Rotary Jet Spinning.
Originally developed in Parker’s lab to build in vitro heart models, the technique uses high-speed spinning and focused air streams to turn liquid polymer solutions into ultra-thin fibres, which are deposited onto a rotating collector, or mandrel. The fibres assemble into tubular scaffolds that resemble natural blood vessels.
Beyond trauma surgery, the team also foresees applications in paediatric heart surgery, where children born with congenital heart defects often require highly individualised, complex procedures.
Once implanted, the grafts provide the mechanical strength needed to withstand blood pressure and maintain the vessel’s structure.
Over time, the synthetic scaffold degrades as the patient’s own cells rebuild the tissue. A key goal is rapid endothelialisation, with the graft’s inner wall quickly covered by specialised lining cells that promote smooth blood flow.
Peters said the grafts’ material and structure are intended to limit clotting and other complications seen with existing synthetic grafts.
