Animals have previously been successfully printed organs using a 3D printer. Northwestern University researchers inserted prosthetic ovaries in sterilized mice, and the animals produced healthy offspring. Rhesus monkeys have been implanted with blood vessels made from the same animals’ material at the Chinese business Sichuan Revotek.
Animals have previously been successfully printed organs using a 3D printer. Northwestern University researchers inserted prosthetic ovaries in sterilized mice, and the animals produced healthy offspring. Rhesus monkeys have been implanted with blood vessels made from the same animals’ material at the Chinese business Sichuan Revotek.
Animals have previously been successfully printed organs using a 3D printer.
Northwestern University researchers inserted prosthetic ovaries in sterilized mice, and the animals produced healthy offspring. Rhesus monkeys have been implanted with blood vessels made from the same animals’ material at the Chinese business Sichuan Revotek.
Different bioprinting technologies are being developed by research organizations or companies:
Frame. The inorganic proliferation of living cells, which vanishes with the formation of natural connections between cells. The key challenge is finding a material that is equally flexible or stiff as the organ to be replaced. It must decay fast in order to avoid interfering with the extracellular matrix’s strength and dissolve without leaving hazardous substances behind. Wireframe printing is possible using hydrogel, titanium, gelatin, synthetic, and biopolymers.
Frameless. Ready-made cells are applied to a hydrogel foundation. The cells are chilled and housed in thin hydrogel spheroids while they are in the printer. The temperature rises to 36.6°C during printing, the spheroids scatter, and the cells build their own natural framework – the cellular matrix. This type of printing is less prevalent than wireframe printing since it was developed later and is more difficult to duplicate.
Mimicry. Future technologies will allow for the simultaneous production of entire organ replicas. Bioprinting at the molecular level is being developed for it, as are in-depth studies of cell nature.
3D bioprinting has progressed from an idea to a viable commercial product. Bioprinting firms’ principal clientele to date have been huge pharmaceutical enterprises. Drug testing is sped up by testing drugs directly on printed human tissues.
Although expensive bioprinters will not be available in city clinics for another five years, 3D printing is already helping some patients heal. Osteomyelitis infected the jaw of an 83-year-old Belgian lady. The repair was more costly and took longer than removing the sick jaw and replacing it with a printed replacement. The procedure was conducted by a team of doctors led by Professor Jules Poukan, and the woman was able to communicate shortly thereafter.
With the advancement of bioprinting, it will be easier to remove a damaged limb and generate a new one than it will be to treat ailments that are currently treated without amputation. Bioprinting is appealing to cosmetologists and plastic surgeons, in addition to doctors. The desire to stay youthful and attractive, rather than the treatment of uncommon and complicated diseases, will drive the adoption of 3D printing of human organs. Perhaps, in the future, individuals will be able to replace their organs and looks as simply as they change their cellphones.
