nanowerk.com
http://www.nanowerk.com/news2/biotech/newsid=30342.php
Summary: Scientists from the University of Wollongong say that they are three years away from printing, in 3D, real human body parts such as muscle, nerve and cartilage, and a decade away from printing custom made organs for patients. ACES Director Professor Gordon Wallace, who is in charge of the project, said, “Within a few years, we believe it will be possible to manufacture living tissues like skin, cartilage, arteries and heart valves using cells and biomaterials. Using a patient’s own cells to create this tissue avoids issues of immune rejection. By 2025, it is feasible that we will be able to fabricate complete functional organs, tailored for an individual patient.” This means that if you need a new heart, for example, they can take tissue samples from you and use your own DNA to create a unique heart from a 3D printer, which work by adding layer on layer of material until the heart is completed. This revolutionary technology holds great promise for the future of medicine, especially since the body will not reject the new organ, since it is made from it's own DNA.
Connections: This article connects to the human body because it has to do with the body systems. It also shows a way to fix homeostatic imbalance in the body because of a malfunctioning organ that is pretty close and viable.
How would this 3D printer work differently than a traditional 3D printer that uses powder and adhesive to create plastic objects?
ReplyDeleteUsing this 3D printing, do you think it is possible to create body parts that are greater than normal function? Like, do you think that it is possible that the 3D printer could create a heart more effective than most humans or skin that provides better protection to the body?
ReplyDeleteJack: These printers work in similar fashion except that instead of plastic they are using biological matter to create organs. They print layer upon layer of cells to create a 3D organ that theoretically could be a viable transplant. In theory it is basically the same concept but in practice is a lot trickier. The theory is there, but we cant get the technology to work for big organs jsut yet.
ReplyDeleteEric: I think it is possible that with 3D printing you could make a more efficient organ when the technology is perfected, but one big issue i've found is having the body accept the organ. Changing the way it works could negate the entire point of 3d printing: having an organ that the body reckonises as it's own. there would probably be a domino effect that would result from altering an organ, and whether those effects would be good or not is highly variable. So, id say much easier said than done.
ReplyDeleteadding on to what i said to eric: all the stuff i found was hypothetical since we dont have the technology print large organs yet
ReplyDelete