Computer-aided tissue engineering: Application to the case of anterior cruciate ligament repair

Abstract

Tissue engineering has the potential to overcome the limitations associated with current reconstructions strategies of the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL). However, the design of a scaffold satisfying the key requirements associated with ACL tissue engineering is a challenging task. In order to avoid a costly trial-and-error approach, computer-based methods have been widely used in the case of various applications such as bone or cartilage. These methods can help to define the best scaffold and culture conditions for a given list of criteria, and may also enable to predict the ultimate evolution of the scaffold and to better understand some mechanobiological principles. Some of these methods are reviewed in the current chapter, and are applied for the first time in the case of ACL tissue engineering. The morphological and mechanical properties of a new scaffold based on copoly(lactic acid-co-(ε-caprolactone)) (PLCL) fibers arranged into a multilayer braided structure will be assessed using dedicated numerical tools. Preliminary biological assessments are also presented, and some conclusions concerning the suitability of the scaffold and the interest of CATE in this case will be drawn.