A new device, Organs-on-chips, has won 2015 London Design Museum's Design of the Year Award. The new device is lined with human cells and may do away with the need for animal testing.

Donald Ingber and Dan Dongeun Huh at Harvard University's Wyss Institute have developed the device. The revolutionary chips are the result of around seven years of research. The chips are micro-devices lined with human cells that work by mimicking the actual tissue structures, functions and motions of organs.

It is being considered that the current system of testing, including cells in Petri dish or using animals are not perfect and also, they do not accurately imitates the responses of human cells. The researchers were successful in recreating the functions of 15 organs.

Bio researcher Geraldine Hamilton, Head and chief scientific officer of Emulate, thinks that Organs-on-Chips can prove a big game changer for pharmaceutical and make-up testing and that too without the need of animals.

The researchers have explained that the lung chip is the size of a small computer memory chip and is armed with a membrane having human lung and blood capillary cells. In addition, a machine is being used to expand and contract the cell, the same force applied as when people breathe. The researchers in return can then assess how the cells respond.

"It's really great to be recognized not just because of the science but also for the design. It's very elegant and simple but mimics the key attributes of human organs", said Tony Bahinski, lead senior staff scientist at the Wyss Institute.