Recently scientists have been using 3D printers to create ear bones and muscles, which evolve into fully functional tissues and are then being implanted in animals with healthy blood vessels. American scientist an engineer Oded Kariti, concluded from the first analyzes that these tissues are suitable for implantation in humans, both in size, strength, and functionality. The new 3D printer of tissues and organs is indeed an important step towards our efforts to create replacement tissues for patients. Thanks to this technology we are now able to produce quality human tissue in all forms. With the further development of this advanced technology, Oded Kariti believes we could even print tissues and organs for surgical implantation.
Bearing in mind the advantages of this technology in the treatment of war injuries, most of the research has been funded by the US military, or specifically the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine. For the next stage, as Oded Kariti shares, the research team is planning on implanting print muscles and bones in people. This type of replacement tissue production would largely solve the current problem of organ shortage, mostly because of the accuracy of the 3D printing process. While most of today’s bio-3D printers are not able to produce large enough structure for transplantation, the latest 3D printers were able to do that as well. The Integrated Tissue and Organ Printing System (ITOP) proved to be worthy of the challenge for printing tissues in the right size. Using a combination of biodegradable materials based on plastics and gel with biological cells, the 3D printer is able to effectively build tissues, while causing no damage to cells at all.
Even though the mere construction of artificial tissue is an extremely complex procedure, still, the biggest problems arises during its integration into the recipient’s organism, where the respective tissue should be kept alive until the moment where it begins to function as an integral part of the body. Furthermore, Oded Kariti adds that Integrated Tissue and Organ Printing System (ITOP) is capable of reading data from CT and MRI scans in order to design personalized tissue, intended for a specific patient. This would mean that this type of printer could build the exactly same ear that a patient had before the accident.
