Imagine being able to simply grow an organ from a simple cell scraping. Better yet, print one that has less chance of rejection in a fraction of the time. That is what we all may have to look forward to. Several universities and companies are looking into the field of bio-printing. When President George W. Bush put an end to stem-cell research, companies turned to different avenues for potential cell-based breakthroughs.

One such company following down the path of bio-printing is Organovo. Their bio-printer is in the early stages of clinical trials and shows much promise for the future. Organovo’s printer works in 3D, allowing it to print organs fully and complete in a matter of minutes, theoretically speaking. It is a long ways off before it is capable of doing that. The early models are only able to show proof of concept. All this means is that they are able to print some genetic material. The reintroduction of stem cell research has allowed for bio-printing to really take off.

The main concern with transplants of organs is the body rejecting the foreign organ. With bio-printing, the body would be more likely to recognize the organ as its own, since it will be shaped based off information taken from bone marrow or fat cells. This will allow them to mesh better with the recipient body, with less trauma overall. The only issue is while being more likely to see the organ as the patients own, there is still a chance the body might reject it all the same.

Organovo’s printer works by gradually layering up cells upon cells, creating gaps in one layer for the next to fill up. This causes each layer to become interlocked with the one before it. This is vital to having a viable organ, opposed to just a mass of flesh. This layering technique also allows for the hollows in organs to be created without much hassle at all.

A researcher at Wake Forest has taken an off-the-shelf ink jet printer and made his own type of bio-printer. This bio-printer focuses more on printing out skin graphs. Currently this technology is being funded by the US military. They hope this technology can be applied to soldiers who receive severe burns on the battle field, lowering the risk of infection during healing. The printer uses a cartridge full of skin cells. This version of bio-printing requires a scan of the wound, allowing the printer to know how much and what type of skin cells to print.

All of this is really exciting technology! Where will we see it in actual use? In hospitals is any one’s guess. This is just evidence of how science fiction is becoming less fiction and more science every day. There is no telling what the future will hold for this new development.

Cover and story photo from Creative Commons

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 29th, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Tech. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.