*Join Zoom Meeting https://purdue-edu.zoom.us/j/92168739019?pwd=cnBOaFBxN3FWVVVTWC8wWWhaekdIdz09 (Meeting ID: 921 6873 9019, Passcode: biomedical)

Conner Earl (C. Goergen, advisor) will present "Strain Characterization of Cardiac Pathology Using 4D Imaging."

Abstract: Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide- contributing to nearly 1 in 4 deaths in the United States. 4D (3D+time) cardiac imaging is a promising imaging technique that allows for the comprehensive assessment of heart biomechanics- specifically myocardial strain. This assessment allows for better characterization of cardiac disease models in preclinical research and better diagnosis and treatment for heart disease patients in the clinic. Additionally, automated techniques that utilize deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) provide a unique opportunity to leverage the value of 4D imaging while streamlining analysis and processing. In this presentation, I will describe how we use 4D cardiac imaging to assess both preclinical mouse models of heart disease and how we can use similar techniques to characterize pediatric heart disease. Finally, we will discuss the growing role of machine and deep learning techniques that allow for rapid and accurate automated image analysis making these techniques more user friendly and accessible to the clinic and other researchers.

Evaluation link (Conner Earl):  https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2rB2a4kk4z5wrnU

Kentaro Umemori (D. Little, advisor) will present "Three-Dimensional Meltblowing as a High Speed Fabrication Process for Tendon Engineering Scaffolds."

Abstract: Over 250,000 rotator cuff tendon tears are repaired annually in the US, but even after surgery, the retear rate is up to 90% for massive tears due to the formation of structurally and mechanically inferior fibrotic scar tissue during healing. To augment the repair process, tendon tissue engineering (TTE) approaches seek to improve these outcomes using biomimetic scaffolds. The scaffold fabrication process, standard meltblowing (SMB), has gained interest in TTE by being high-throughput and economical while accurately producing fiber diameters matching the native tendon microstructure. However, SMB produces non-aligned fiber mats with limited tunability in the three-dimensional (3D) architecture. This led to the development of 3D meltblowing (3DMB) which introduces a robotic collector that can produce scaffolds at high speeds with highly organized fibers and at anatomically relevant dimensions. However, the performance of 3DMB scaffolds for TTE applications is unknown. A technique to evaluate scaffolds for TTE is by seeding cells and assessing the cell behavior. Thus, I hypothesize that 3DMB scaffolds seeded with human adipose derived stem cells (hASCs) will induce the formation of tendon-like extracellular matrix. In this study, we used 3DMB scaffolds fabricated using poly-L-lactic acid (PLA) and poly-ε-caprolactone (PCL) and assessed its fiber parameters, observed its impact on cell behavior, and compared the results with PLA SMB scaffolds. Fiber analysis of 3DMB scaffolds demonstrated closer resemblance to tendon microstructure than standard meltblown scaffolds by exhibiting greater alignment and mechanical anisotropy. 3DMB scaffolds after 28 days of culture demonstrated cell proliferation and deposition of aligned tendon-like extracellular matrix, but at lower levels compared to PLA SMB scaffolds. Furthermore, we discovered that cell culture has enhanced mechanical properties of 3DMB scaffolds. These results show that 3DMB is a promising method to fabricate scaffolds for TTE applications, however, further exploration is needed to elucidate their impact on cell behavior.

Evaluation link (Kentaro Umemori): https://purdue.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5yWw7t7bBmjdhgW