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Bioprinting: The Future of Medicine

Alanis Acosta

August 30, 2020          

 

          There is this episode of the Grey’s Anatomy series where the protagonist, Dr. Meredith Grey, managed to get a 3D printer at the hospital where she worked at. As imagined, everyone was anxious and impatient to see what she could do with the printer and the many lives it could save if used accordingly. Doctors were rushing to the lab and whispering their thoughts as to what Dr. Grey could have possibly printed within a couple of days of getting the machine. As Dr. Grey and her assistant arrive to the room, she shows her new toy. She had printed a fork. Soon later, there was a variety of laughter and disappointment in everyone’s faces. I; however, could only think about the following question: what if there was a way to print functional organs and be able to give them to patients? Research demonstrates that every ten minutes a person is added to the national transplant waiting list in the U.S alone, while about 20 patients die every day waiting for a transplant. Bioprinting allows for these people to not have to wait years for an organ; a real breakthrough in the healthcare system. In addition, patients would not risk organ failure since the printer would use the person’s own cells to create the required organ. Even though it sounds futuristic or even impossible, bioprinting is pretty much real and existing.

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So, what is bioprinting?


            Using 3D printers that print items layer by layer with phenomenal depth and dimension, bioprinting involves the patient’s own biomaterial like cells. With these cells, a special bio-ink is created, which can help with the development of complex structures like blood vessels or even skin tissue. Most printers also deliver an organic synthetic gel that makes the cells attach and then eventually grow. Since this technology is relatively new, there are different types of printers and a variety of methods for delivering this biomaterial. Some of these include extrusion, laser, microvalves, inkjet and tissue fragment printing.

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Advancements in Bioprinting

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            First, a team from the Swansea University in the UK, was able to print long-term bone matrix. Usually, bone fractures are repaired in bone grafting surgeries, but even these have limitations and every surgery has a risk. This innovating material is composed of the following: gelatine, agarose, collagen alginate, calcium phosphate and polycaprolactone. Over time, the patient’s original structure would mix with the new, and in fact, be replaced by it.

            In addition, a group of scientists at the American Friends of Tel Aviv University have a 3D printed vascularized heart. The whole structure is composed of all cells, blood vessels, ventricles, and chambers. The printed heart is on early stages though, meaning that it is not able to pump any blood yet and it is the size of a rabbit’s heart. It will be tried on humans once the animal trials are successful and the heart is able to fully function.

            Finally, the Wake Forest School of Medicine has triumphed at printing skin cells to burnt skin directly. With only 10% of the burnt skin, enough cells can be grown for 3D printing. Using a scanner, doctors can know exactly the size and depth of the wound so that the machine can print hypodermic, dermic, and epidermic skin cells to treat the injury efficiently.

            Because it is an insanely expensive and complicated process, 3D-printing is taking a long time to be implemented. Bioprinting will take around 10 years until full organs can be actually developed by the 3D printer. However, if managed efficiently and carefully, it can be one of the best things medicine has ever experienced. Medicine is a field of innovation and invention; bioprinting is only the beginning.

 

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