news hardware Scientists develop the first printer that saves lives
As more and more people around the world await organ transplants, research into 3D printing of living tissue continues to advance. A hope for many patients. Today, science is advancing in leaps and bounds towards a 3D printer that can save lives.
Every year in France, thousands of people benefit from an organ transplant: heart, lung, cornea, the possibilities are endless. In 2021, 5,273 transplants were performed in France in patients who were on the waiting list.Organ transplantation saves lives, but it comes with many limitations. The first and last is nothing but organ availability. In the vast majority of cases, the “donations” come from deceased persons who are compatible with the patient awaiting a transplant. There are of course cases of transplants performed by living donors, but the question of compatibility remains essential.
3D printers in the service of organ transplantation
In the United States, where the waiting list for an organ transplant exceeds 100,000 patients, Every day 17 people die before they can benefit from a transplant. A situation that forces many research teams to work hard to find an alternative to traditional transplantation. One of the ways mentioned is bioprinting.
Researchers at the Wyss Institute at Harvard are actively working on it a bioprinting process that can be used to create living tissue using a 3D printing process. This would make it possible to create thick tissue using human cells that would eventually make it possible to print viable organs for transplantation.
Scientists are currently working to extend the lifespan of these tissueswho are currently “live” for about six weeks. They are on the way to solving one of the most critical problems in bioprinting, viz the vascularization of printed tissue.
The video released by the Wyss Institute is quite fascinating to watch: Anyone who has ever seen a standard 3D printer work can easily find a familiar diagram there. No plastic here, but layers of living cells that, once stacked, form a thick vascularized tissue.
“The process uses an adjustable printed silicone mold to take the printed fabric and seal it onto a chip. Within this mold, a grid of larger vascular channels containing living endothelial cells is printed in silicone ink. A free-standing ink containing live Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) is overlaid over a separate print job. After printing, a fluid composed of fibroblasts and extracellular matrix is used to fill open regions within the construct.”explain the researchers.
When printing is complete, The tissue is immediately impregnated with nutrients that ensure its survival but also its development. This phase is very delicate and is currently the focus of current research.
3D printed fabric visible through a microscope. We can perceive the vascularization of stem cells.
What is the purpose of 3D printing living tissue?
Scientists initially hope Achieve the creation of vascularized tissue viable enough to be used in regenerative medicine, for example to treat severe burns. In such a situation the printed tissue would contain cells from the body of the person to whom the transplant is intendedwhich would greatly reduce the risk of rejection.
As far as 3D printing of viable organs is concerned, there is still a long way to go. If the technology is viable enough to be tested, it will take years of clinical trials to learn the effectiveness of the printed fabrics. The day we’ll see a transplantable heart from a 3D printer isn’t here yet, but researchers are working to make this sci-fi vision a reality.
