Free Republic

Scientists from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), Pennsylvania, have used a novel 3D bioprinting method to build functional parts of the human heart. According to a study published in Science, an advanced version of Freeform Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels (FRESH) technology was developed to 3D print collagen for small blood vessels, valves, and beating ventricles. FRESH technology is patented to FluidForm, a Massachusetts-based medical startup. Professor Adam Feinberg, CTO and co-founder, FluidForm, and Principal Investigator at the Regenerative Biomaterials and Therapeutics Group, CMU, said: “We now have the ability to build constructs that recapitulate key structural, mechanical, and biological properties...

Shortage of organs for transplantation has been one of the most challenging endeavor that patients, families and health care providers face today. But now, a possible novel answer to organ shortage has arrived: 3D printing of substitute organs. Numerous measures have been implemented to widen the pool of organ donors all across the U.S. Interventions to address the problem of organ shortage include national programs to heighten deceased donor donation, paired donor exchanges and split organ donation, among many others. Actions to hasten public awareness, enhance efficiency of donation mechanism and standardize donation policies have resulted in remarkable rates of...