Over the years, we’ve discussed the development of a wide range of body-on-a-chip systems. Scientists create these theoretical “body parts” in order to emulate human physiological responses to drugs to determine drug efficacies and potential toxicity in organs. According to a recent LiveScience article, the latest creation in that vein is the vagina-on-a-chip, a small device containing live human cells that replicate the cellular environment inside the vaginal canal.
Researchers at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering are able to introduce bacteria to the device and study how the different microbes affect vagina health. They are also testing how probiotics and various drugs affect the vaginal microbiome, which plays a key role in prenatal health. A video with more information can be seen here.
