Bioreactor including electrical and mechanical stimulation for a monoaxial muscle

This thesis presents the design, assembly and test of a bioreactor for a monoaxial muscle, that includes both electrical and mechanical stimulation. A first version of this bioreactor was designed last year (2017) but several remaining issues prevent its proper functioning. Therefore, the transmission and the chamber designs were changed to ensure a biocompatible, airtight, and sterilizable bioreactor, with an easy mounting, and a functional stimulation. The new design showed great results with regard to the sealing and the mounting of the bioreactor, but a new membrane with less rigidity should be found to ensure the actuator shaft sealing. The different implemented stimulation modes were tested first with springs and weight, and afterward on a pork abdominal muscle, showing good results as well. Even if further investigations should be done regarding the filtering of the force measurements, this bioreactor have already brought a lot of improvements.