Tissue Engineering in Vascular Medicine

Tissue engineering is a major breakthrough in cardiovascular medicine that holds amazing promise for the future of reconstructive surgical procedures. The three main components used in creating a tissue engineered construct are: 1) a scaffold: used to mimic the extracellular matrix, 2) a cell type: seeded to the scaffold to help with biocompatibility and regeneration, and 3) cell signaling: communication between the cells via biochemical, physio-chemical signaling. Our goal in this chapter is to review the short history of organ and tissue regeneration, the advances in the regeneration field, and the current state of vascular tissue engineering.

Keywords: Biodegradable scaffolds, Bone marrow mononuclear cell, Cardiovascular disease, Cell seeding, Clinical trial, Congenital heart disease, Coronary artery disease, Electrospinning, iPS cell, Pediatric cardiac surgery, Peripheral artery disease, Single ventricle physiology, Stem cell, Tissue engineering, Tissue-engineered vascular grafts, Total cavopulmonary connection, Vasculature.