Researchers develop artery-on-a-chip device to predict stroke risk

Sydney (ANTARA) - Researchers from Australia and China have developed an ‘artery-on-a-chip’ that replicates blood vessel structures and patient-specific blood flow dynamics to help predict stroke risk. Published in the journal Cell Biomaterials, the study describes the device as a ‘physical twin’ and shows that blood vessel shape and local blood flow disturbances are likely more important determinants of stroke risk than blood vessel narrowing alone, according to a study summary posted on the Australian Science Media Centre website on Friday (24/7). ‘We hope this device will allow us to study drugs aimed at reducing stroke risk and ultimately provide personalised treatment for each patient based on their anatomy,’ said the study’s first author, Zhao Yunduo, from the University of Sydney, Australia. To test the platform, the researchers reconstructed the carotid arteries of six patients with varying degrees of disease and used computational fluid dynamics to model blood flow, revealing striking differences in local blood flow despite similar levels of artery narrowing. After using a laser to create a small wound on the underlying collagen, they also observed that blood clotting occurred differently depending on the artery shape. The team is currently recruiting stroke patients for clinical trials.