Credit: Visualization by Claire Robertson/LLNL.
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Duke University combined 3D bioprinting and computational flow models to analyze the physics behind circulating tumor cell (CTC) behavior and the cells’ attachment to the vascular endotheliumthe layer of cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels. The approach provided scientists with insights into how and why cancer cells metastasize in certain areas of the human vasculature.