Image-Based Extracorporeal Tissue Engineering of Individualized Bone Constructs

Purpose: Computer-aided technologies have been recently employed for use in extracorporeal bone tissue engineering strategies. In this pilot animal experimental study, the intention was to test whether autologous osteoblast-like cells cultured in vitro on individualized scaffolds can be used to support bone regeneration in a clinical environment. Materials and Methods: For this purpose, mandibular bone defects were surgically introduced into the mandibles of minipigs and the scaffold of the defect site was modeled by computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing technique. Autologous bone cells from porcine calvaria were harvested from minipigs and grown in culture. Cells were seeded on scaffolds generated by rapid prototyping of polylactic acid/polyglycolic acid copolymers. The defects were then reconstructed by implanting the tissue constructs. Results: The intraoperative sites as well as the postoperative computerized tomographic scans demonstrated an accurate fit in the defect sites. The implanted scaffold constructs enriched with osteoblast-like cells were well tolerated and appeared to support bone formation, as revealed by histologic and immunohistochemical analyses. Discussion: These results indicated that in vitro expanded osteoblast-like cells spread on a resorbable individualized scaffold can be capable of promoting the repair of bony defects in vivo. Conclusion: These results warrant further attempts to combine computer modeling and tissue engineering for use in bone reconstructive surgery. Keywords: animal model, bioengineering, bone, osteoblasts