The Creepy But Incredible World of 3D-Printed Body Parts

Computer

vulam.kd

April 5, 2023

The Creepy But Incredible World of 3D-Printed Body Parts

[ad_1]

One of the great hopes about 3D printing is that—in addition to printing Yoda heads(Opens in a new window) or an afternoon snack—we will be able to recreate organs, limbs, and other vital human parts lost to illness or accident.

3D-printed prosthetics have made for many heart-warming stories(Opens in a new window) about returning or creating function to patients. But the accessibility and openness(Opens in a new window) of 3D printing has made it possible to bring its advances to many people at little cost.

3D bio-printing, however, is a different matter. It is an eerie but magical prospect that we could one day print out replacement hearts and other vital organs. While that reality is far off, it’s no longer so far off that it seems like sci-fi. There are real scientific advances being made with devices that are printing off bones, skin, cartilage, nerve cells, and even entire organs.

These projects and their creators are sometimes decried for their Frankenstein-like nature, but the potential to give birth to life-giving body parts through technology is more dream than nightmare. Check out the slideshow for some recent advances.

1. Nerve Cells

One of the major challenges of 3D bio-printing is the delicacy and complexity of nerve cells. Michigan Technological University’s In-Situ Nanomedicine and Nanoelectronics Laboratory(Opens in a new window) is starting small on the big work of nerve regeneration. The team is currently researching whether cellulose nanocrystals make a workable bio-ink.

2. Thyroid

Scientists at 3D Bioprinting Solutions in Russia have 3D printed an entire thyroid gland(Opens in a new window) that they are going to transplant into a mouse for testing. The thyroid was created by stem cells that came from fat cells that were then mixed in with a hydrogel. The researchers presented their findings at the International Bioprinting Congress(Opens in a new window) in Singapore this month.

3. Heart

The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is responsible for another 3D-printed breakthrough. It recently revealed that it has created a beating heart “organoid(Opens in a new window),” a network of cardiac cells created from skin cells that have been reprogrammed and then fused together with 3D printing.

4. Bones

Bones

The most fundamental of body parts, bones are not as easy to replace as they might seem. Bone grafts can be rejected by the body and metals, polymers, and ceramics pose their own complications. Using a process called CT-Bone, doctors in Europe are now able to 3D print a base of calcium phosphate, a building block of bone, to the exact dimensions required. Over the course of a few months the patient grows bone from that base. CT-Bone is the work of Xilloc and Next 21, and can be used in non-weight-bearing areas such as the skull.

5. Noses and Ears

Noses and Ears

Despite what the movies might tell you, you can’t recreate an entire person from their nose. But you can grow a new nose—or an ear—through 3D printing. At ETH Zürich’s Cartilage Engineering and Regeneration group, nose and ear cartilage is created through a mix of biopolymers and living cartilage cells. They are put into eight syringes and inserted into a 3D printer, which generates a new nose or ear in 16 minutes. Once it’s placed in a patient, cartilage will grow around the implant. One of the advantages of 3D printing is that the replacement could be made to match the original. And since the cartilage would be created from the patient’s own cells, the chance of rejection is low. This year, the team will test out the cartilage in animals and then move on to human clinical trials.

6. Skin

Skin

The loss of skin, whether through a burn or a wound, is profoundly painful and disfiguring. Replacing skin means removing it from another part of the patient’s body, which can cause more complications—not to mention the fact that there’s a finite amount of available skin. At the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, researchers are working on a process to 3D print skin cells directly onto burns and wounds. By using a 3D printer, the skin could be made to fit the depth and size needed.

Aside from medical uses, cosmetics company L’Oreal has contracted with Organovo(Opens in a new window) to research 3D-printing skin for the testing of its products.

[ad_2]

Source link : https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-creepy-but-incredible-world-of-3d-printed-body-parts