Multiscale fabrication of a transparent circulation type blood vessel simulator

Abstract

We proposed and fabricated multiscale transparent arteriole and capillary vessel models with circular cross sections of 10-500 m using photolithography. The circularities of the fabricated 10, 50, and 500 m diameter microchannels were 84.0%, 61.5%, and 82.3%, respectively. Next, we connected these different models to realize a circulation type blood vessel model simulating arteriole networks. We proposed a novel connection method using an intermediate connector made of wax, which we used to connect these models to make a circulation model. In flow experiments, the fabricated models showed no leakage and circulation models with seamless connections were achieved.

Asymmetry of red blood cell motions in a microchannel with a diverging and converging bifurcation

“…2,16,[25][26][27] Due to its particulate nature blood exhibits unique flow dynamics at a micro-scale level. Hence, there is an increasing interest by both the microfluidic and biomedical communities to develop blood diagnostic devices as an alternative tool to the traditional diagnostic strategies.…”

Retinal vessel model fabricated on a curved surface structure for a simulation of microcannulation

“…We have already fabricated the vessel model with circular vessel cross sections by using a reflow process with the patterned photoresist [19]. However, this approach requires additional processing steps, wihch increases the cost of fabrication.…”

“…Several studies have already been published discussing mock-up simulators for various sections of blood vessels [17][18][19][20]. For large vessels (in mm) such as the coronary artery or arteries in the brain, such simulators can benefit from 3D printing technology.…”

“…Photolithographybased fabrication techniques can be applied to fabricate models of smaller vessels. For example, Nakano et al fabricated a microchannel that mimics a fine blood vessel with sizes down to about 10 μm using photolithography techniques and PDMS molding [19]. Although photolithography offers sufficient resolution for the retinal vessel model, it can only be applied to 2D structures.…”

“…Basically, two types of surgical simulators exist: a computer-based virtual reality (VR) simulator [11][12][13][14][15], and a mock-up simulator made of artificial materials [16][17][18][19][20]. Once electronic data from the target parts are acquired, the VR simulator can construct the target parts with high reproducibility.…”