Researchers from the University of Alabama, Birmingham report on the use of the SynVivo platform for the development of a human airway-on-a chip model which combined with novel micro-optical coherence tomography (µOCT) enables non-invasive quantitative imaging of ciliary movement, including beat frequency and mucociliary transport.
“The advantage of this microfluidics device lies in the formation of a complete lumen for both the airway epithelium and the adjacent endothelium. It is a step forward in the development of a model that recapitulates both the cellular differentiation and organization into tubular structures, similar to the small airways and microvasculature”, said Dr. Jennifer Guimbellot, pediatric pulmonologist and assistant professor, UAB School of medicine.
Zhongyu Liu, Stephen Mackay, Dylan M. Gordon, Justin D. Anderson, Dustin W. Haithcock, Charles J. Garson, Guillermo J. Tearney, George M. Solomon, Kapil Pant, Balabhaskar Prabhakarpandian, Steven M. Rowe, and Jennifer S. Guimbellot. Biomedical Optics Express Vol. 10, Issue 10, pp. 5414-5430 (2019)