musculoskeletal injuries & disorders
metabolic disorders & diseases
Musculoskeletal Injuries & Disorders
Musculoskeletal injuries and disorders represent the most common reason for seeking medical care and can drastically change how we live our lives.
At Aspect, we are committed to creating effective, 3D bioprinted tissue engineering solutions to treat or eliminate these debilitating, and often chronic, conditions.
3D Bioprinted
Meniscus Tissue
The meniscus is an essential shock absorber of the knee and is one of the most commonly damaged areas of the knee joint. It demonstrates poor healing ability and, while acute pain can be treated with complete or partial removal of the meniscus in the short-term, this can have long-term consequences like osteoarthritis.
We are combining custom tissue design, biomaterial flexibility, and fibre patterning to generate a meniscus implant mechanically suitable for surgical implantation. Microfluidic 3D bioprinting will enable the on-demand fabrication of personalized meniscus implants with customized dimensions to precisely match the anatomy of the patient’s knee.
Metabolic Disorders & Diseases
Chronic diseases that impact metabolic function exact a tremendous toll on patients, their families, and society. Standard treatments require frequent injections or infusions and lifelong vigilance.
We are focused on coupling our microfluidic 3D bioprinting platform with stem cell technologies to develop a new class of regenerative medicine therapies.
3D Bioprinted
Pancreatic Tissue
Diabetes is an increasingly prevalent chronic disease that is estimated to impact 500 million people worldwide. Although insulin was discovered nearly a century ago, the fundamental approach of managing this disease has not changed.
At Aspect, we are developing an implantable stem-cell based tissue therapeutic that will provide immune protection while regularly delivering insulin without the need for intervention by the doctor or patient. This tissue therapeutic would be a transformative cure for patients dependent on injected insulin.
Human pancreatic islet image courtesy of Prof. Timothy Kieffer at the University of British Columbia
INTERDISCIPLINARY INNOVATION
- materials science
- cell biology
- microfluidics
- 3d printing
We believe the convergence of these rapidly advancing fields reflects a paradigm shift in regenerative medicine. By positioning ourselves at this intersection with our interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers and our expert collaborators, we are advancing tissue therapeutics that will transform how we heal our bodies.