Organ printing utilizes techniques similar to conventional 3D printing
where a computer model is fed into a printer that lays down successive
layers of plastics or wax until a 3D object is produced. In the case
of organ printing, the material being used by the printer is a
biocompatible plastic. The biocompatible plastic forms a scaffold that
acts as the skeleton for the organ that is being printed. As the
plastic is being laid down, it is also seeded with human cells from
the patient the organ is being printed for. After printing, the organ
is transferred to an incubation chamber to give the cells time to
grow. After a sufficient amount of time, the organ is implanted into
the patient.The ultimate goal of organ printing is to create organs
that can fully integrate into the human body as if they had been there
all along. Successful organ printing has the potential to impact
several industries. These include organ transplants, pharmaceutical
research, and the training of physicians and surgeons.The field of
organ printing stemmed from research in the area of stereolithography,
the basis for the practice of 3D printing that was invented in 1984.
In this early era of 3D printing, it was not possible to create
lasting objects because the materials that were being used were not
very sturdy. Therefore, in the early days, 3D printing was simply used
a way to model potential end products that would eventually be made
from different materials under more traditional techniques. In the
beginning of the 1990s, nanocomposites were developed that allowed 3D
printed objects to be more durable, permitting 3D printed objects to
be used for more than just models. It was around this time that those
in the medical field began considering 3D printing as an avenue for
generating artificial organs. By the late 1990s, medical researchers
were searching for biomaterials that could be used in a 3D
printing.The concept of bioprinting was first demonstrated in 1988. At
this time, a researcher used a modified HP inkjet printer to deposit
cells using cytoscribing technology. Progress continued in 1999 when
the first artificial organ made using bioprinting was printed at the
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The scientists at
Wake Forest printed an artificial scaffold for a human bladder and
then seeded the scaffold with cells from their patient. Using this
method, they were able to grow a functioning organ and ten years after
implantation the patient had no serious complications.
where a computer model is fed into a printer that lays down successive
layers of plastics or wax until a 3D object is produced. In the case
of organ printing, the material being used by the printer is a
biocompatible plastic. The biocompatible plastic forms a scaffold that
acts as the skeleton for the organ that is being printed. As the
plastic is being laid down, it is also seeded with human cells from
the patient the organ is being printed for. After printing, the organ
is transferred to an incubation chamber to give the cells time to
grow. After a sufficient amount of time, the organ is implanted into
the patient.The ultimate goal of organ printing is to create organs
that can fully integrate into the human body as if they had been there
all along. Successful organ printing has the potential to impact
several industries. These include organ transplants, pharmaceutical
research, and the training of physicians and surgeons.The field of
organ printing stemmed from research in the area of stereolithography,
the basis for the practice of 3D printing that was invented in 1984.
In this early era of 3D printing, it was not possible to create
lasting objects because the materials that were being used were not
very sturdy. Therefore, in the early days, 3D printing was simply used
a way to model potential end products that would eventually be made
from different materials under more traditional techniques. In the
beginning of the 1990s, nanocomposites were developed that allowed 3D
printed objects to be more durable, permitting 3D printed objects to
be used for more than just models. It was around this time that those
in the medical field began considering 3D printing as an avenue for
generating artificial organs. By the late 1990s, medical researchers
were searching for biomaterials that could be used in a 3D
printing.The concept of bioprinting was first demonstrated in 1988. At
this time, a researcher used a modified HP inkjet printer to deposit
cells using cytoscribing technology. Progress continued in 1999 when
the first artificial organ made using bioprinting was printed at the
Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The scientists at
Wake Forest printed an artificial scaffold for a human bladder and
then seeded the scaffold with cells from their patient. Using this
method, they were able to grow a functioning organ and ten years after
implantation the patient had no serious complications.
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