Tissue engineering

Tissue Engineering is an emerging discipline that aims at the development ofbioartificial substitutesfor the repair or replacement of damaged tissues and organs. As a multidisciplinary science it merges biological, engineering and clinical fields to fabricate new, Junctional tissues using living cells and a scaffolding within a simulated physiological environment. This paper reviews the central aspects of Tissue Engineering - cel/s, scaffolds, and environmental stimuli essential for tissue formation - and gives an overview of research in this area peiformed at the Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering section of the Eindhoven Universit yof Technology. Much of our studies focus on the development of model systems to investigate tissue responses to specific environmental stimuli. Numerical models are employed to predict these responses. Further research is peiformed on developing enabling technologies for Tissue Engineering, such as bioreactors and biodegradable scaffolds. These aspects are illustrated in the description of our research projects, related to the development of bioartifical muscle tissue, blood vessels, aortic heart valves, and an intelligent bioreactor for controlled tissue growth