Taiwan is leveraging its semiconductor, artificial intelligence (AI) and supply chain strengths to develop a national organ-on-a-chip (OOC) model, aiming to gain a competitive edge in biomedicine.
The miniature devices simulate specific human cells and tissues under real physiological conditions. Taiwan’s efforts to develop its own OOC model are led by the National Institutes of Applied Research.
An OOC is not like a computer chip people might imagine, but rather a miniature physiological system reconstructed outside the human body, including blood vessels, cardiac muscle cells or alveolar cells, National Center for Biomodels Director-General Chin Hsien-ching (秦咸靜) said.
Photo provided by Hsu Yu-hsiang
OOC technology involves culturing cells to form tissue-like functions for simulation and experimentation, Chin said.
The technology has struggled to take off due to high costs, but proved valuable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
National Taiwan University Institute of Applied Mechanics professor Hsu Yu-hsiang (許聿翔) said that scientists introduced the COVID-19 virus in an OOC with human lung cells to learn how it infected humans.
That was an early breakthrough that facilitated the development of a vaccine, Hsu said.
Chin said that traditional drug development relies on animal testing, but physiological differences can turn early successes into failures when they reach human clinical trials.
By using human cells and tissues, OOC technology can more accurately assess a drug’s efficacy, enhancing the development and success of new medicines, she said.
The technology can simulate the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, brain, eyes and even tumors, she said.
When combined with AI, the technology can help decode diseases and predict responses to treatment, she added.
While Europe and the US lead in OOC development, Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and AI give the nation an opportunity to catch up, Chin said.
The National Institutes of Applied Research established a task force to help research teams translate their finding into practical applications, she said.
The National Center for Biomodels verifies biological models, the National Center for Instrument Research optimizes prototypes and the National Center for High-performance Computing supplies AI technologies, she said.
The goal is to create a standardized local model that can be mass produced at a low cost, Chin said.
Next year, the team plans to roll out three to five products, she said, emphasizing that Taiwan’s OOC technology would be on par with global models.
“The dream of OOC technology is to create a human substitute outside the body,” she said, adding that Taiwan is doing its utmost to advance this development.
Government agencies could also use OOC technology to test the toxicity of chemicals, cosmetics and pesticides, she said.
The US Food and Drug Administration permits new drugs to be screened with OOC technology before animal testing, which has significantly boosted success rates, she added.
Hsu’s team at National Taiwan University has developed an original method for culturing cardiac muscle cells, shortening the process from six months to two weeks, producing cells that act like real heart tissue.
They also added mechanical materials to the OOC that turn heartbeats into electrical signals, so researchers can measure them without expensive microscopes.
The team built an automated system that plugs into industry production lines, making the technology much easier to commercialize, Hsu said.
Unlike normal chips that test one drug at a time, the team’s heart-on-a-chip can test three drugs at once.
The team spent four years developing a small-artery OOC, which simulates the development of blood vessels from microvessels to small arteries.
This device premiered in July and was recognized in an international journal.
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