You might have heard of SoC - System-on-a-Chip. But have you heard about Organ-on-a-Chip or OoC? OoCs are micro-scale biomimetic systems that replicate the complex structures and key functions of living organs. They are able to do so by controlling the movement of fluids through tiny channels, membranes, and chambers lined with living human cells and tiny biosensors.
The main use case is to speed up drug development and reduce animal testing which are often cruel & time consuming.
For example, in 2019 a liver-on-chip device was developed that gave unforeseen insights into the underlying mechanism behind non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. These insights were impossible to make using the traditional and inherently static 3D culture models.
I found this topic really interesting. If you are curious, do read about it more from the following links:
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