3D Printing Biotech

Regenerative medicine or man-made regeneration has been influenced and advanced the most with 3D printing technology. Scientists using stem cells and/or various forms of scaffolding have taken advantage of these technologies in such a short period of time and many different human parts have been reproduced: skin, ears, nose, eyes, bone, and parts of a skull patch that can be manufactured in a fraction of the time with details that can be easily customized.[i]

Scientists at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in the US have created a hybrid 3D printer that can create implantable human cartilage. We all know how hard it is to regenerate cartilage but “once the fake cartilage is implanted, it can form a porous structure that encourages healthy, natural cartilage to grow around it.”[ii]

TeVido BioDevices LLC, a start-up company in Texas, is using 3D printing technology to develop a process to fabricate women’s breast tissue using the patient’s fat cells and predicts to have a lower rejection rates. However, TeVido still has many challenges before this goes to market. “Keeping the shape intact, determining the ideal density of capillaries to maintain blood flow to all the cells, and preventing cells from dying before implantation are all key concerns that the company is exploring.”[iii]

3D printed blood vessels from the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany

Video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XUECDxWYyG8

Printing blood vessels is harder, because one needs to create a functioning circulatory system to go with it stated Günter Tovar, lead investigator who heads up the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology. He points out that “the lining is important to make sure that the components of the blood do not stick, but are transported onwards.” [iv]The printed vessel has to work just like a normal vessel in directing nutrients to their destination.

Printing organs is harder still, because of their more complex architecture. There are two main reasons for this: 1) There are no adult human stem cells available for the heart or nerves of the spinal cord, so embryonic or induced pluripotent stem cells must be used, according to Kevin Shakesheff from University of Nottingham; and 2) because organs come in different sizes, it is necessary to guarantee that the cells are in the right position.[v] The ultimate goal is to use these blood vessels for procedures such as bypass surgery.

3D Living kidney - Prof. Xu at Hangzhou Normal University, China

video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Tpy9NShieZg

Professor Xu Mingen from Hangzhou Normal University: School of Medicine in Zhejiang Province, China has been able to print miniture 3D living kidney. The 3D kidney can function like a human kidney in terms of breaking down toxins and metabolites and can live for up to 4 hours.[vi] The ultimate goal is to use the 3D printed kidneys for organ transplant, with a decreased chance of organ rejection. But there are still many years of research ahead before this will be realized.

Other uses in medicine

Other companies exploring uses for 3D printing in medicine include Organovo in San Diego, CA where scientists for the very first time have been able to print a tiny 3D replica of a human liver.[vii] The mini liver can perform most of the same functions as a human version. The company’s immediate goal is to test how the liver reacts to certain drugs for future toxicity screening tests and study disease progression and ultimately, for organ transplant.

Cardiologists Yoav Dori and Mark Fogel at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia are printing replicas of children’s heart to plan and practice complex surgical procedures.[viii] Congenital heart defects, the most common type of birth defect in the United States can be complicated and diverse, and can range in severity from a small hole between chambers to the absence of entire chambers. Being able to plan and practice surgery with 3D models can make the procedures faster resulting in better outcomes.

At Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust in the UK, Craig Gerrand, an orthopedic surgeon consultant used the hospital's 3-D printer to fabricate a replacement pelvis out of titanium powder for a bone cancer patient where most of the bone had to be removed and prevented the surgeon from attaching an implant reported by The Telegraph.[ix]

Conclusion

We could not have come this far today if it were not for advances in technology and incorporating technologies from other disciplines, such as high tech, semiconductor, biofabrication and others.

From this vantage point it appears that the sky is the limit as to what we can do in medicine with the help of 3D printing, The ability to regenerate an arm or leg may be far into the future, but for now we are grateful for the significant advances in robotics and prosthesis that have resulted in the development of artificial limbs that gracefully mimic human movement.

Might we solve the mystery of regeneration for humans within a generation of two? It’s hard to tell, but I’m optimistic since scientists have already discovered how to convert stems cells to pluripotent cells. Until then, we are certain to have a few good alternatives.

[i]Campbell-Dollagham K, How 3D Printers Are Cranking Out Eyes, Bones, and Blood Vessels, Gizmodo; December 3, 2013 ( http://gizmodo.com/how-doctors-are-printing-bones-eyes-noses-and-blood-1474983505) [ii]Institute of Physics, Cartilage made easy with novel hybrid printer, Biofabrication; November 22, 2012 (http://www.iop.org/news/12/nov/page_58984.html) [iii]Brownlow R, Startup: 3-D printer can create breast tissue, Austin Business Journal; June 10, 2013 http://www.bizjournals.com/austin/blog/abje_news/2013/06/startup-3-d-printer-can-create-breast.html?s=print [iv]Fraunhofer Institute, Blood Vessels from Your Printer, Fraunhofer-GesellschaftPress Release; September 13, 2011 http://www.igb.fraunhofer.de/en/press-media/press-releases/2011/blood-vessels-from-your-printer.html [v]Campbell-Dollagham K, How 3D Printers Are Cranking Out Eyes, Bones, and Blood Vessels, Gizmodo; December 3, 2013 http://gizmodo.com/how-doctors-are-printing-bones-eyes-noses-and-blood-1474983505 [vi]China View, Living Kidneys 3D Printed in China, Medical Design Technology; September 9, 2013 http://www.mdtmag.com/videos/2013/09/living-kidneys-3d-printed-china [vii]Fienberg A, Scientists Have 3D-Printed Mini Human Livers for the First Time Ever, Gizmodo; April 23, 2013 http://gizmodo.com/5995271/scientists-have-3d+printed-mini-human-livers-for-the-first-time-ever [viii]Meeri K. Using 3D Printing to Treat Children’s Heart Defects, The Inquirer, February 10, 2014 http://articles.philly.com/2014-02-10/news/47171542_1_heart-defects-3-d-printer-phoenix-children#DQxUSvwbmHyUrxat.99 [ix]Moore G. Surgeons have implanted a 3-D-printed pelvis into a U.K. cancer patient, FierceMedicalDevice, February 11, 2014 http://www.fiercemedicaldevices.com/story/surgeons-have-implanted-3-d-printed-pelvis-uk-cancer-patient/2014-02-11?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal

3D Printing Biotech

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