Medical progress has historically depended on scientific discoveries. Until recently, science was driven by technological advancements that, once translated to the clinic, fostered new treatments and interventions. More recently, technology-driven medical progress has often outpaced laboratory research. For example, intravascular devices, pacemakers for the heart and brain, spinal cord stimulators, and surgical robots are used routinely to treat a variety of diseases. The rapid expansion of science into ever more advanced molecular and genetic mechanisms of disease has often distanced laboratory-based research from day-to-day clinical realities that remain based on evidence and outcomes. A recognized reason for this hiatus is the lack of laboratory tools that recapitulate the clinical reality faced by physicians and surgeons. To overcome this, the NIH and FDA have in the recent past joined forces to support the development of a "human-on-a-chip" that will allow research scientists to perform experiments on a realistic replica when testing the effectiveness of novel experimental therapies. The development of a "human-on-a-chip" rests on the capacity to grow

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Copyright © 2021 Williams-Medina, Deblock and Janigro.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

DJ is the Scientific Director of Flocel, Inc., a company manufacturing the DIV-BBB system described in this review. AW-M participates in a graduate unpaid internship at Flocel, Inc. under the mentorship of DJ. The remaining author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.