Abstract: A cell culture apparatus including a cell culture device and a movement system for moving the cell culture device. The cell culture device includes at least two reservoirs for holding a liquid cell medium, one or more chambers for culturing of living cells, tissues or living organoids and at least two perfusion channels connecting the reservoirs. The chambers are separated from at least one of the perfusion channels by a semipermeable barrier for selective transport of cell media and/or for selective growth or migration of living cells. The movement system is configured to move the cell culture device with a movement axis in a tilted orientation in order to move the lowest point of a flow loop through all points within the flow path of the flow loop and thereby generate gravity driven circulation of the liquid cell medium around the flow loop.

Abstract: The invention relates to a microfluidic device which has at least one first culture chamber with cardiac muscular cells, at least one microfluidic channel, at least one pump (for example a micropump), and at least one detector, said detector being configured to detect an activity of the cardiac muscular cells contained in the culture chamber. The microfluidic device additionally contains at least one controller which is configured to control the at least one pump on the basis of the cardiac muscular cell activity detected by the at least one detector. The invention additionally relates to uses of the microfluidic device.