Systems and methods for processing tissue

Inventors

Vyavahare, Narendra R. • Simionescu, Teodor Dan • Nagy-Mehesz, Agnes • Houde, Ajay

Assignees

Annoviant Inc

Abstract

Embodiments of the present specification provide systems and methods for holding one or more tissues, such as veins, such that the tissue remains open in a chamber while undergoing orbital shaking with various solutions and to allow uniform treatment during a decellularization process. A frame is held on a stand to which the tissues are attached and comprises a tension inducing mechanism to cause the tissues to controllably stretch. The frame is removed from the stand, with the tissue attached to it, and placed in a decellularization chamber for uniform treatment of the tissue.

Core Innovation

The invention provides a processing system adapted to decellularize one or more pieces of biological tissue having a cylindrical shape. The system includes a processing device that holds tissue pieces defined by a first end with a first circular periphery, a second end with a second circular periphery, and a length defined by a longitudinal axis, and the processing device fits within an internal volume of a chamber containing a decellularization solution.

The processing device uses a first holder comprising a first ring configured to atraumatically attach to the first circular periphery and a second holder comprising a second ring configured to atraumatically attach to the second circular periphery. A first member attaches the first holder to the frame and a second member attaches the second holder to the frame, and at least one of the first member or second member lengthens or contracts to apply tension along the longitudinal axis to preserve the cylindrical shape.

The system further includes a frame configured to hold the tissue pieces and a chamber configured to contain the processing device. The disclosed workflow includes mounting the frame on a stand for preparation, removing the frame while maintaining a strained open lumen, and placing the processing device in the sealed decellularization chamber for decellularization using decellularization solution with orbital shaking and sequential solution changing.

Claims Coverage

Independent claim clm-00001 defines a complete decellularization processing system for cylindrical biological tissue using atraumatic ring holders, tension applied along the longitudinal axis, and a chamber containing a decellularization solution.

Across the provided claim set, the core claim coverage centers on a decellularization processing system that preserves cylindrical tissue shape by atraumatically attaching rings to both ends and applying longitudinal-axis tension using frame-mounted members, while performing decellularization in a chamber containing a decellularization solution.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications