Document Type

Thesis

Degree

Master of Science (MS)

Major/Program

Biomedical Engineering

First Advisor's Name

Sharan Ramaswamy

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Joshua Hutcheson

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

Michael Sukop

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

Tissue engineered heart valves, stem cells, pulsatile flow, oscillatory shear stress, physiologically-relevant, oscillatory shear index, valvular phenotype, aortic valve, fibrosa, calcification, tissue remodeling

Date of Defense

6-29-2018

Abstract

Heart valve tissue engineering (HVTE) stands as a potential intervention that could reduce the prevalence of congenital heart valve disease in juvenile patients. Prior studies in our laboratory have utilized mechanobiological testing to quantify the forces involved in the development of heart valve tissue, utilizing a Flow-Stretch-Flexure (FSF) bioreactor to condition bone marrow stem cells (BMSCs)-derived valve tissue. Simulations have demonstrated that certain sets of flow conditions can introduce specific levels of oscillatory shear stress (OSS)-induced stimuli, augmenting the growth of engineered valves as well as influencing collagen formation, extracellular matrix (ECM) composition and gene expression. The computational findings discussed in this thesis outline the methods in which flow conditions, when physiologically relevant, induce specific oscillatory shear stresses which could not only lead to an optimized valve tissue phenotype (at 0.18≤ OSI≤ 0.23), but could identify native valve tissue remodeling indicative of aortic valve disease.

Identifier

FIDC006850

Share

COinS
 

Rights Statement

Rights Statement

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).