Medical science has already made some impressive advances towards 3D printing functional human organs. We’ve seen printable human tissues, a bioprinted thyroid, and miniature printed kidneys. Now, a research team from the University of Toronto Engineering have pioneered a new breakthrough technology to more fully realize the potential of 3D printing organs for use in human transplants.
This breakthrough is coming in the form of the AngioChip, a biodegradable and biocompatible polymer scaffold. The scaffold accurately replicates the environment of the human body and allows tissues to be printed in layers consisting of small channels of about fifty or one hundred microns in width; after these layers are stacked together, they form a network of blood vessels. The team has already made use of this technology to create heart and liver models that have proven to behave just like their natural counterparts. In the future, this promises to be a valuable asset for research teams and hospitals alike.
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