Chips Hold the Key to Reproductive Health

Female reproductive medicine may not have been entirely overlooked in the history of medical research, but it has never been given the attention that it deserves. There are signs, however, that the spotlight is turning toward the most essential of human processes. Now, a technology that has become commonplace in drug development, disease modeling, and personalized medicine is being put to work to target the causes of fertility and preterm birth. A microfluidic device lined with living human cells, known as an organ-on-a-chip (OoC), is being adapted to create models of the female reproductive system.