Engineering an advanced, high value bioreactor system for research and clinical application

Advancing biomaterials by providing the best research environment

Challenge

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of death, not just in Australia. To effectively treat the disease, new, more versatile vascular graft materials are needed. Codex Research, by combining engineering and life science skills, hopes to create a mimic of the human system to facilitate the research.

Proposed Solution

Codex Research is partnering with the University of Sydney to develop an advanced perfusion bioreactor technology that mimics biological environments in vitro – in this instance the human vasculature – to facilitate material research of vascular grafts.

Applying advanced manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing and robotics, the project will manufacture custom design components of the bioreactor technology. Researchers will then integrate automated, flexible manufacturing strategies to facilitate the production of the bioreactor system and use advanced sensing technology to achieve real-time monitoring and control of its physical parameters.

While at first optimised for the development of tissue engineered vascular grafts, the bioreactor will serve as a base technology upon which different applications can be built. This will allow Codex Research to access clinical, regenerative medicine, and medical science research markets.