The process by which MeTro gel is created (Image: Khademhosseini lab)
Micropatterns used in the MeTro gel (Image: Khademhosseini lab)
Heart muscle cells aligning and stretching within the MeTro gel material (Image: Khademhosseini lab)
One of the things that makes heart disease so problematic is the fact that after a heart attack occurs, the scar tissue that replaces the damaged heart tissue isn’t capable of expanding and contracting – it doesn’t “beat,” in other words. This leaves the heart permanently weakened. Now, however, scientists from Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have developed artificial heart tissue that may ultimately provide a solution to that problem.
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