Human Tissue Printer – Print Human Tissue on Demand

A company called Invetech have created what looks to be a human tissue printer that works in a similar way to how 3D printers work. The system is capable of building up human organs cell by cell to create scaffolds that liver cells could be placed on.

Regular 3D printers use plastic that is built up layer by layer over the course of the printing session to create unique 3D objects. The new system replaces this “3D ink” with living cells so that Dr’s can print human tissue on demand.

‘Scientists and engineers can use the 3D bio printers to enable placing cells of almost any type into a desired pattern in 3D, Murphy said. ‘Researchers can place liver cells on a preformed scaffold, support kidney cells with a co-printed scaffold, or form adjacent layers of epithelial and stromal soft tissue that grow into a mature tooth. Ultimately the idea would be for surgeons to have tissue on demand for various uses, and the best way to do that is get a number of bio-printers into the hands of researchers and give them the ability to make three dimensional tissues on demand.

An interesting point to make here is that the model is a production model and already delivered to a company called Organovo who in turn will supply the machines to researchers investigating human tissue repair and organ replacement.

Via: LiveScience and Switched