Simultaneous intraluminal imaging of tissue autofluorescence and eGFP-labeled cells in engineered vascular grafts inside a bioreactor.

The growing demand for tissue engineered vascular grafts (TEVG) motivates the development of optimized fabrication and monitoring procedures. Bioreactors which provide physiologically-relevant conditions are important for improving holistic TEVG properties and performance. Herein we describe a fiber-based intraluminal imaging system that allows for in situ assessment of vascular materials and re-cellularization processes inside a bioreactor by simultaneous and co-registered measurements of endogenous fluorescence lifetime and exogenous marker fluorescence intensity.