A Patient-Specific 3D Printed Carotid Artery Model Integrating Vascular Structure, Flow, and Endothelium Responses

Abstract

The progression of atherosclerosis is driven by the interplay between vascular anatomy, hemodynamic forces, and endothelial responses. However, existing in vitro vascular models have yet to integrate all these elements into a cohesive, patient-specific system. Here, This study presents the first instance of direct 3D printing of a miniaturized, patient-specific carotid artery model that recapitulates anatomical-dependent hemodynamic changes and vascular cell remodeling. Phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from a healthy donor are used to generate miniaturized 3D carotid artery models, which are analyzed via computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and particle imaging velocimetry (PIV) to validate the preservation of physiological hemodynamic properties. Using digital light processing (DLP) 3D printing, the miniaturized carotid artery vessel is fabricated using gelatine methacrylate (GelMA) containing embedded human aortic smooth muscle cells (hASMCs) and an endothelialized lumen with human aortic endothelial cells (hAECs). Perfusion culture replicated physiological arterial shear stress of up to 10 dynes cm−2, resulting in differential endothelial cell alignment and inflammatory monocyte adhesion corresponding to laminar and turbulent flow regions within the carotid artery. This model serves as a powerful platform for future studies investigating how patient-specific anatomical variations influence susceptibility to atherosclerosis by altering local flow dynamics.