A novel scaffold for tympanic membrane repair – Year two

The ability to hear, and the quality of our hearing, depends on the health of the eardrum. Eardrum perforations due to diseases and accidents can be treated using grafts, such as autologous grafts, allografts and xenografts. These replacements suffer from various limitations such as donor site morbidity, long operation time and healing time, and risk of infection transmission, and more importantly, none of these grafts are able to replicate the complex microanatomy for sound quality reproduced by the native eardrum. In this project, we propose to develop a novel graft with oriented collagen core-shell fibers and growth factors in the core. The oriented fibers mimic the local structure of the native eardrum, producing better sound quality. Furthermore, the delivery of growth factors would improve healing and promote closure of the eardrum perforation. The successfully developed graft will be commercialized by our industrial partner.

Faculty Supervisor:

Wankei Wan

Student:

Jian Liu

Partner:

Axcelon Biopolymers Corporation

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Advanced manufacturing

University:

Western University