The Open Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Journal

2009, 2 : 8-13
Published online 2009 January 21. DOI: 10.2174/1875043500902010008
Publisher ID: TOTERMJ-2-8

Three Dimensional OCT in the Engineering of Tissue Constructs: A Potentially Powerful Tool for Assessing Optimal Scaffold Structure

Zheng K. , Rupnick M.A. , Liu B. and Brezinski M.E.
Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.

ABSTRACT

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) provides detailed, real-time information on the structure and composition of constructs used in tissue engineering. The focus of this work is the OCT three-dimensional assessment of scaffolding architecture and distribution of cells on it. PLGA scaffolds were imaged in two and three dimensions, both seeded and unseeded with cells. Then two types of scaffolds were reconstructed in three dimensions. Both scaffolding types were examined at three different seeding densities. The importance of three-dimensional assessments was evident, particularly with respect to porosity and identification of asymmetrical cell distribution.

Keywords:

Low birth weight, IGUR, infants.