Cartilage Development in an MRI-Compatible Hollow-Fiber Bioreactor

Osteoarthritis is the leading cause of joint pathology in the older population. Given the limited intrinsic self-repair capacity of cartilage, a great deal of activity is ongoing to establish conditions under which cartilage regeneration might be achieved. In addition, the potential for use of engineered cartilage as a therapeutic implant is also under active investigation. Finally, the ability to assess cartilage status noninvasively through MRI analysis may play an important role in the development of therapeutics. Motivated by these considerations, we have explored cartilage growth and development in an MRI-compatible hollow fiber bioreactor (HFBR) system (Fig. 1).