We may not have flying cars yet, but 3D printed organs? That science fiction fantasy has just taken a step closer to reality thanks to a fast 3D printing method developed by engineers at the University of Buffalo.
Their work was recently included in a study published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials, which you can read here, and is also demonstrated in the downright disturbing poison above. These accelerated images show that a 3D printer completely constructs an artificial hand in just 19 minutes, a task that would take six hours with conventional 3D printing methods, the team said.
“The technology we’ve developed is 10-50 times faster than the industry standard, and it works with large sample sizes that were previously very difficult to achieve,” said co-lead author Ruogang Zhao, an associate professor of biomedical medicine. engineering at the university, in a press release Friday.
The process is based on stereolithography, a long-standing 3-D printing method that uses lasers to harden liquid resin, and gelatinous substances called hydrogels that can absorb large amounts of water without dissolving. Hydrogels are often used in commercial products such as contact lenses, glue, and disposable diapers, although scientists have also potentially experimented with them biomedical treatments
According to researchers, this method is particularly suitable for correctly printing every tiny detail in cells with embedded blood vessel networks, something that is expected to play a critical role in the eventual production of 3D-printed human tissue and organs.
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“Our method makes it possible to quickly print centimeter hydrogel models. It significantly reduces part deformation and cellular injuries caused by the long-term exposure to environmental factors often seen with conventional 3D printing methods, ”said the study’s other co-lead author, Chi Zhou, an associate professor of industrial and systems engineering at the university. . .
The team’s research was funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering and the National Institutes of Health, as well as the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, according to the press release.
The idea of 3D printed organs still seems like a futuristic mumbo jumbo to me, but I suppose if you can eat already 3D printed meat in a 3D printed house where do you keep your 3D printed gun, then the sky is the limit.