Lab-grown artificial heart

Researchers from the University of Toronto grew a miniature model of the human heart’s left ventricle that beats and pumps fluid like a regular heart.

The team used three-dimensional tissue cultures from tiny scaffolds with mesh-like structures.  These contain heart muscle cells grown in a liquid medium.  The researchers then use electrical pulses to control how fast these muscles beat.  The result was three layered heart muscles that could beat and pump out fluid.  

The tissue only creates about 5 percent of the ejection pressure a human heart can make.  Also,  it only has three layers compared to the human heart’s eleven muscle cell layers.  However, the researchers are confident they can improve their tissue so it can be used to study cell, tissue, and organ functions.

Will the researchers succeed in developing this artificial heart in the future?  Let us know your thoughts.  

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