Designing a High-Throughput Platform for Contraction Analysis in Cardiac Macrotissues

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of mortality worldwide, while the translational success of preclinical drug development is limited by insufficiently predictive in vitro models. Engineered human myocardium enables physiologically relevant assessment of cardiac function; however, current high-throughput platforms are restricted to auxotonic force measurements and fail to capture preloaddependent isometric force of contraction (iFOC). Here, we present the design of a novel analysis platform enabling intraplate iFOC measurements using a contact-based force-sensing tool in combination with a 48-well cultivation system. The platform allows transfer of preformed tissues from the cultivation platform to an optimized measurement environment, overcoming geometric constraints of the original system. Experimental validation demonstrates an extended preload range and improved suitability for assessing contractile function under physiologically relevant conditions. While full automation and long-term validation remain future work, the proposed system establishes a scalable basis for non-destructive, high-throughput iFOC analysis and may improve the predictive power of engineered muscle models in drug discovery.