1 PRINT-ON-DEMAND BODY PARTS

Living in a world where a heart valve or a liver could be printed with the click of a mouse may sound like an elaborate plot from the newest sci-fi fiction series. This scenario, however, is currently being explored in what is considered the new frontier of modern medicine: 3D bio-printing technology.

Dr. Anthony Atala, director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., wrote in a CNN article that 3D bio-printing and regenerative medicine could be the answer to improving the quality of life for millions while also combating the rising costs of health care.

“Early estimates project that regenerative medicine therapies will result in direct health care cost savings in the United States of $250 billion per year for the chronic diseases of renal failure, heart failure, stroke, diabetes, burn and spinal cord injuries,” he writes.

Currently, 3D printers are already being used in the areas of engineering and construction, architecture, automotive, dental care, aerospace, footwear, industrial design, education, geographic information systems, and civil engineering. However, with continued efforts from institutes like Wake Forest and pioneering bioprinting companies like San Diego-based Organovo, the use of 3D printers in medicine could one day make the jump from experimental to conventional.

Similar to how a 3D printer can layer plastic to make airplane parts or a toy, cells are “printed” in layers to create human tissue, starting first with a tier of cells that is then followed by a tier of hydrogel that operates as scaffolding material. The process repeats until the tissue is built. Once the cells fuse, the hydrogel

Sources: “Regenerative medicine’s promising future,” by Dr. Anthony Atala. CNN.com. www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/07/10/atala.grow.k idney/index.html; “5 Discoveries That Will Change The Future of Organ Transplants.” Time.com. healthland.time.com/2013/06/06/5- discoveries-that-will-change-the-future-of-organ-transplants/slide/ bioprinting-machine-for-organs; “How 3-D Printing Body Parts Will Revolutionize Medicine.” Popsci.com. www.popsci.com/science/a is removed, leaving a piece of material completely made from human cells. The material is then moved to a bioreactor where the tissue continues to mature until it reaches its final structure. rticle/2013-07/how-3-d-printing-body-parts-will-revolutionize-medicine; inese-scientists-are-3d-printing-ears-and-livers-with-living-tissue/ (Accessed Sept. 13, 2013)

Across the world, bioengineers have already begun to print prototype body parts. In February, Cornell University used 3D bio-printing to create an artificial ear, and Organovo’s NovoGen MMX Bioprinter, the world’s first commercial 3D bio-printer, is being used to “print” functional liver tissues for testing new drugs.

In looking to the future, researchers hope by using a patient’s cells to build tissues and organs, it will lessen the chance of bodies rejecting the new organs, eliminate the need for donors and transplants, and reduce the number of patients who die waiting for transplants. We may be decades away from using this type of technology on a regular basis, but as more funding is poured into bio-printing and regenerative medicine, a revolution sets on the horizon that is destined to cure disease instead of treat it.

“5 Body Parts Scientists Can 3-D Print.” Popsci.com. ww w.popsci.com/science/gallery/2013-07/5-body-parts-scientists-can-3-dprint?image=4;“Chinese Scientists Are 3D Printing Ears and Livers –With Living Tissue.” thediplomat.com/tech-biz/2013/08/15/ch

FOUR BODY PARTS THAT HAVE BEEN 3-D PRINTED

Ears

Researchers at Hangzhou Dianzi University in China were the first to 3D print ears using living cells instead of plastic. To produce the ears, the researchers built their own 3D printer. Xu Mingen, the developer of the printer, said the printer can produce a mini liver sample or a four- to five-inch ear cartilage sample in under an hour. In the future, it may become possible to print fully functional organs, and these ears could be used to treat congenital ear deformities such as microtia, a condition characterized by hearing loss due to an underdeveloped or malformed outer ear.

Bones

To make a bone, Washington State University researchers print the framework with a ceramic powder using the same kind of 3D printers that are used to make metal parts found in electric motors. The ceramic is then covered with a layer of plastic binder and baked at more than 2,000 degrees for 120 minutes. Lastly, it is placed into a culture with human bone cells, and after a day, the scaffold supports the cells. Since millions of automobileaccident survivors suffer from hard- to-fix complex fractures each year, it is believed that doctors could use bioprinters to print a custom graft that seamlessly matches the fracture.

Kidneys

Two years ago, Dr. Anthony Atala of Wake Forest Institute For Regenerative Medicine revealed the world’s first 3D printed kidney. However, the kidney was not made with actual living human tissue. Now, a team from eastern China has successfully printed a series of living kidneys, which is a huge step forward in the quest for 3D printed replacement organs. Nevertheless, these kidneys only have a lifespan of four months, so they are far from being used as a viable option when it comes to transplantation.

Skin Grafts

Wake Forest bioengineers use a custom bioprinter that scans and maps a patient’s wound. One inkjet valve ejects the enzyme thrombin; the other ejects cells mixed with collagen and fibrinogen. The printer then deposits a layer of human fibroblasts, followed by a layer of skin cells called keratinocytes. In the near future, researchers hope to be able to print new skin directly into a wound and build a portable printer that can be used to treat the injured in war and disaster zones.