2D and 3D in-Vitro models for mimicking cardiac physiology

Abdelsayed G, Ali D, Malone A, Saidi J, Myneni M, Rajagopal K, Cheema FH, Hameed A.

Abstract
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality and a huge economic burden on the healthcare system globally. Both pharmacological and device based treatment options have emerged over the years, however, it is still a ‘holy grail’ to effectively treat some cardiovascular conditions, for example, heart failure. Any treatment option whether it is drug therapy or a device therapy, has to go through a rigorous regulatory approval process. This requires robust pre-clinical research and clinical trial results. In order to proceed to the clinical trials, pre-clinical research is very important and may take methodologies which are at the interface of biology and engineering, for example, in-vitro, ex-vivo and in-vivo models. This paper focusses on the 2D and 3D in-vitro models to mimic the pathophysiology of a specific cardiovascular disease and their advantages and limitations.