Research on the 3D Bioprinting with Organ and Tissue Transplants

The process of transplanting organs has been helping those in need for decades, tracing back all the way to the 1950’s. Organ transplants allow doctors to save the lives of millions of patients, but the demand for donors is ever-growing. Because of this, there is not nearly enough donors as there are people in need. As a result of this chasm, alternative actions need to be taken in order to make up for the increasing number of patients waiting for a transplant. This is where technology comes into play with what is known as 3D bioprinting.

What is 3D Bioprinting

3D bioprinting came about through what is known as 3D printing which has advanced bountifully thought the last decade. In fact, it is one of the leading strategies for tissue engineering in the realm of regenerative medicine. Rather than using real-life donors and organs, 3D bioprinting allows doctors to fabricate the organs in need in order to replace the damaged organs.

How does it replicate organs

In order for an organ that was formed through 3D printing to function properly, it either has to be incubated in what is known as a bioreactor in order to mature or via surgery where the body itself becomes the bioreactor. With the rapid advancement of technology, there are various techniques for 3D printing that can be used. Among these forty options include inkjet printing, laser-assisted printing, extrusion printing, stereolithography printing.

In using 3D printed organs, there are important aspects that limit the functionality of larger or more dense organs. These limiting factors include cell viability, vascularization, and exact cell placement. However, recent advancement have been made by the Integrate Tissue Organ Printing System as they have been able to successfully produce tissues with cell viability that offers promising results. Unfortunately, there are still some issues with vascularization.

The most advanced and likely method is a result of the work of Cohen and his team. They were able to use a camera system to see what is defective and work through the printing process that way. Through the use of both technological visualization systems as well as bioprinting, there is a promising future for 3D bioprinting.

Is it able to mimic real tissue/organs

In 3D bioprinting, there are three different approaches that can be taken: biomimicry, mini-tissues, or autonomous self-assembly. These approaches to printing allow for the created tissue or organ to function like the original. Biomimicry allows for the cellular aspects of the tissue or organ to be replicated, mini-tissues allows for the basic building blocks of the tissue or organ to be created, and autonomous self-assembly allows the stem or embryonic cells to develop the shape. The structure of the tissue or organ is determines by using 3D scanners, ultrasounds, magnetic resonances, and computed tomography to capture the image of the original. These images are then transferred into a 2D pattern so that the 3D software can create it layer-by-layer.

Is 3D bioprinting being implemented already

Throughout the rapid advancement of the last decade, the use of 3D modeling has increased tremendously. In fact, 3D modeling and implementation is even used with animals, primarily for scientific experiments. Since it is still dealing with trial and error, it has not been implemented in full, but is offers a promising future for science and medicine in the future.

Conclusion

The advancement in science and technology when having to do with medicine has grown leaps and bounds and has allowed for the further implementation of technology in organ and tissue transplants. 3D printing has promised advancement in many areas of life, varying with everything from shoe manufacturing to home remodeling.

While there is a promising future for 3D printing in tissue and organ transplants, there is still a lot of work to do. The complexity of the human body and transplantation has come with much tribulation, but there is hope that 3D bioprinting will eventually be able to take over and assist in the saving of people’s lives. The complexity of transplants cannot be underestimated as there is a lot of specifics that come into play. Hopefully, with more trials and growth, 3D bioprinting will be able to function as true organs and tissues.