Cardiovascular Tissue Engeneering

 

The working group Cardiovascular Tissue Engeneering deals with the regeneration of the cardiovascular system. The following topics are part of our work:

Fontan

The aim of the project Fontan is to improve the quality of life and prevent morbidity and mortality in patients in the Fontan circulation. This is to be achieved by generating an autologous, flap-bearing, contractile conduit in the sense of a subpulmonary neo-ventricle.

BioV²alve

BioV²alve deals with the development of biohybrid venous valves for minimal invasive treatment of chronic veneous insufficiency.

BioPacer

The BioPacer project is developing a biological pacemaker for babies and children.Traditional pacemakers are too big for the chest.The "BioPacer" consists of a small cylinder that is populated with endogenous cells of the heart-sick child and cultivated in a bioreactor. It will treat heart rhythm disorders.

Implant Monitoring

The aim of the Implant Monitoring project is to establish longitudinal monitoring of tissue maturation and to validate it in animal experiments. To this end, an understanding of the biological dynamics of the insertion and remodelling process of biohybrid cardiovascular implants will be gained using the example of the geometrically simple vascular prosthesis. In order to investigate the interactions between (i) biomaterial, (ii) cellular components and (iii) implant environment non-invasively, methods of hybrid MR-PET and molecular ultrasound imaging will be investigated and tested.