Abstract

Human Organs-on-Chips

Andries van der Meer, Associate Professor, University of Twente, Scientific lead, Organ-on-Chip Center Twente

Organs-on-chips are plastic microdevices the size of a USB-stick with microchannels and small chambers that are filled with liquid. The devices contain multiple human cell types which are cultured in a technologically controlled microenvironment that artificially mimics aspects of the human body like morphology, movement, flow, electrical stimuli and liquid gradients. The resulting device emulates human organ functions and can be used to study biomedical phenomena in the lab. By using patient-specific cells, blood samples, biometrics and imaging data to develop ‘personalized organs-on-chips’, we can study health and disease in models that are relevant for specific patients. The power of such a ‘personalized’ approach is demonstrated in our application of organs-on-chips in studies of thrombosis and vascular biology.