Vascularized Thyroid-on-a-Chip for Personalized Drug Screening and Disease Modeling
This technology includes a micro-engineered “thyroid-on-a-chip” that combines human thyroid organoids with integrated micro-vasculature to replicate the gland’s native blood flow and 3-D architecture, enabling rapid, patient-specific drug screening. By permitting real-time perfusion of nutrients, hormones, and immune cells, the platform yields more physiologically relevant data than conventional static cultures or animal surrogates. Its modular design accommodates cells from individual patients, helping clinicians predict therapeutic response and tailor treatment for thyroid cancers and autoimmune disorders. In pharmaceutical R&D, the chip shortens pre-clinical timelines by providing actionable efficacy and toxicity read-outs within days. Overall, the system offers a high-fidelity bridge between benchtop discovery and clinical decision-making, addressing an unmet need for robust human thyroid models.
- Patient-specific screening of small-molecule, biologic, or radiotherapeutic candidates for thyroid cancer and autoimmune thyroiditis.
- Investigating thyroid-immune interactions to identify new immunomodulatory drug targets.
- High-throughput endocrine toxicity testing for pipeline compounds and environmental chemicals.
- First thyroid model to incorporate functional micro-vasculature, closely mirroring in-vivo hemodynamics and hormone exchange.
- Allows insertion of primary patient cells, enabling personalized therapy selection and reducing costly late-stage clinical failures.
- Generates predictive efficacy and safety data in days, cutting pre-clinical study time and animal use.