Computer Aided Tissue Engineering

Computer Aided Tissue Engineering
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Tissue engineering is an expanding field in many respects. Computer aided tissue engineering, or CATE, is one division of this area of study that is expanding due to its supportive nature in the tissue engineering field. The importance of using computer technology to aid in the production and understanding of tissue engineering is widely used, as it enables medical scientists to approach both fabrication and modeling of more complex tissue substitutes in a more suitable, modern manner. There is also an improvement in the study of cell-matrix interactions by using computer aid. The biotechnology on every level that is involved in tissue engineering is being greatly affected by the integration of computers into this study.

Applying computer technology to tissue engineering has opened new doorways to what we can do. With computer aid, we may now both manufacture and also run simulations for biological tissue and organ substitutes. The ability to simulate is a great development from this division of study. We can reconstruct particular tissue with a sort of bio-blueprint by using computer aid. Three-dimensional reconstruction may be one of the greatest benefits, as different reconstructive techniques will lead us to more refined methods for tissue engineering. Bioengineering and biomedicine are also integrated into this division. There have been on going research projects such as scaffold informatics modeling, bio-manufacturing, cell printing, bio-modeling, as well as bio-mimetic designing of tissue scaffold at a macro level and the cellular level. These research projects are all directly linked to the computer aided tissue engineering.

The first step to repair through computer aided tissue engineering usually begins with obtaining a three dimensional model of the effected tissue. Both bone and tissue can be analyzed in this step. The next step involves tissue informatics. Tissue informatics is defined by compiling all available information about the tissue in question. When working this second step, the goal is to analyze the type and interaction of genes and proteins within the effected tissues. The final step of the process is to design a proper scaffold to use. Using all three of these steps in this process should yield a functional scaffold for use before a surgery.