It may sound a bit too much, but doctors could one day be able to “print” new organs for transplant, say scientists who claim to have designed a “bioprinter” to create made-to-measure human organs.
A prototype machine developed by the California-based regenerative medicine company Organovo is already capable of growing new arteries. And, the scientists hope that the same techniques could be used to create new organs.
It is based on 3D laser printing technology used to create new machine parts for industry. But instead of combining layers of plastic and metal, the “bioprinter” puts living tissue together, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Two laser-based printing heads are used to place living cells onto thin sheets of gel with microscopic precision. Multiple layers are then laid on top of each other in a specially designed mould, or “scaffold” and the cells begin to fuse together.
“Ultimately the idea would be for surgeons to have tissue on demand for various uses. 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,” said Keith Murphy the company’s chief executive.