Scientists from Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine have developed a 3-D bioprinter that can produce tissues and mold them into body parts, like an ear, a jaw bone, cartilage and muscles.
The team has been developing the Integrated Tissue and Organ Printing System (ITOP) for nearly a decade. Once it is refined, scientists plan to use it as replacement for injured, missing or damaged tissues in patients, wherein the parts can be crafted specifically for the patients' need, according to Gizmodo.
The bioprinter mixes live cells using a liquid gel that slowly hardens as it mimics the traits of a living tissue, which includes providing tiny tunnels where blood vessels can grow, making it a fully functional body part replacement.
"We are actually printing the scaffolds and the cells together. We show that we can grow muscle. We make ears the size of baby ears. We make jawbones the size of human jawbones. We are printing all kinds of things," said Anthony Atala of the Wake Forest University Institute for Regenerative Medicine, according to NBC News.
Of course, actually implanting these 3-D printed body parts on humans is still a long way from happening. While the study was able to see success with implanting the 3-D printed body parts under the skin of mice, it has yet to be found out how it can be done using human cells. Scientists will have to evaluate the human immune response and gather a deeper understanding on human regeneration of bioprinted tissues, according to International Business Times.
The study is published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
