ABSTRACT
Hypothesis-driven computational models can enable time- and cost-efficient evaluations of fundamental hypotheses and parameter sensitivity studies, thereby can reduce the experimental search space. Computational biomechanical models show great promise in advancing the field of vascular tissue engineering. Most advances in the field of tissue engineering over the past 20 years, regardless of specific approach or application, have been realized by trial-and-error. Over 600,000 patients per year, require vascular grafts for bypass procedures, hemodialysis, or repair of congenital heart defects in the United States alone. To overcome the limitations of synthetic grafts, many research groups have turned to tissue engineering to develop conduits made from autologous cells. Recent advances in the tissue engineering of vascular grafts have enabled a paradigm shift from the desire to design for adequate burst pressure, suture retention, and thrombo-resistance to the goal of achieving grafts having properties of healthy native vessels, including long-term mechanobiological stability and growth potential.
