By Robert Szczerba
3-D printing has been around in various forms since the 1980s, originally as a means of quickly producing affordable prototypes for the manufacturing industry. Recently, researchers have found some amazing healthcare and biological applications for 3-D printing technology, called bioprinting. As a result, the 3-D printing market for healthcare is predicted to reach roughly 4.04 billion by 2018. From custom prosthetics to living tissue, 3-D printing is a versatile means of providing cost effective and individualized care to patients.
With the advent of 3-D bioprinting, cells can now be dispensed from the printer onto a biologically compatible scaffolding, layer by layer, to create a three dimensional viable tissue. Numerous tissues have been constructed that can be used for a number of clinical applications from transplants to scientific research.
1) Blood vessels: One of the primary limitations to building artificial organs for implants has been the lack of vascularization (the ability to transport blood and other materials through blood vessels to individual cells) in order to maintain organ health. However, a Harvard team has developed a method for creating hollow channels that allow blood to flow throughout the organ, essentially functioning as blood vessels. This new development will allow researchers to build thicker, more complex tissues that would otherwise fail.
