Development and commercialization of 3D printing in medicine

Key information:

• At this point in Poland, nearly 2,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant.
• News about innovations in 3D organ printing is increasingly being reported in the mass media.
• Tissue engineering is a field of science that deals with the application of medical knowledge and materials engineering to produce replacements for damaged organs and tissues.
• Tissue engineering is a field that is developing at a rapid pace through the introduction of numerous innovative technologies.
• The implantation of fully functioning printed organs into the human body would be a true revolution in the world of medicine, for which we unfortunately have to wait probably at least a few years.
• In March 2019, the media was buzzing about the big success of the Poles, who managed to print the first fully functional pancreas prototype.
• Creating the right conditions resembling a human organism in a bioreactor, the topic of 3D printing is still a topic of the future.
• Anything that is implanted in the human body must be manufactured on certified equipment that complies with medical standards.
• Tissue engineering is a field that solves many medical problems.

Details below!

At this point in Poland, nearly 2,000 people are waiting for an organ transplant. Of which at least a few dozen people - as a matter of urgency. Until recently, the only possible solution for improving the quality of health of this segment of the population was to obtain organs from a potential donor. However, news of innovations in 3D organ printing is increasingly being reported in the mass media. At what stage of advancement is the market for 3D printing in medicine, and will organ printing in the future be a no-brainer process? Or will organs created with this technique be seen on store shelves?

Tissue engineering - what is it really?

Tissue engineering is a field of science that deals with the application of medical knowledge and materials engineering to produce replacements for damaged organs and tissues. The first efforts at repairing defects in the body were made as early as the time of the ancient Egyptians, who believed in an afterlife and were extremely concerned with the integrity of the body. Archaeological research has proven that dentures, for example, were already being used then. However, the term tissue engineering itself was not coined until 1988 at a meeting of the National Science Foundation. The 1990s saw a surge in research to develop replacements for almost every organ and numerous innovations were introduced, a milestone for the medical 3D printing market.

Printing process

To begin the process of organ bioprinting, doctors usually start with a biopsy - taking part of an organ or removing a small piece of tissue. This makes it possible to separate the cells and grow them outside the human body. The development of the cells takes place inside a special sterile incubator or bioreactor, whose conditions resemble the internal temperature and oxygenation of the human body. The cells are then left to mix with a biotouch, the non-cellular part of which can be made in the laboratory. Biomaterials used in the printing process must be non-toxic, biodegradable and biocompatible, in order to avoid a negative reaction from the body.

In the next step, doctors insert the bioprint into a printing chamber. The printers are programmed to incorporate patient imaging data from X-rays and scans. This makes it possible to create tissues with personalized properties. The length of the printing process depends on many factors, such as the type of organ or tissue being printed. Usually, however, it takes from a few to several hours.

When organs are harvested from a donor, it is necessary to immediately place them in a bioreactor, as otherwise the cells will die. In addition, it is necessary to perfuse the organ by providing it with fluid (usually blood or a blood substitute). In the case of organ printing, there are a number of issues and challenges that need to be addressed in order for the printed organ to function like a real, human organ in the body. Once a printed organ is implanted in a patient, it will degrade over time. Some people may think that the tissue will then disintegrate. Nothing could be further from the truth! The cells then sense that the bridge is giving way and they no longer have a stable support. They then create their own glue and bridge - just as they do in every human body.

What level of sophistication are we at when it comes to bioprinting?

Despite the fact that tissue engineering is a field that is developing at a rapid pace, through the introduction of numerous innovative technologies, the implantation of fully functioning printed organs into the human body would be a true revolution in the world of medicine, for which we unfortunately have to wait probably at least a few years. However, once the public has reached this stage, commercialization of bioprinting should not be a problem.

Around the world, the demand for organ transplantation is huge. This is causing a continuous increase in innovation, research and work on organ printing. Those who manage to live to see a transplant must take special immunosuppressive drugs for the rest of their lives to prevent organ rejection. With printing, the situation would be quite different. It would provide enough tissue for transplantation, which would be printed from the patient's cells - so the risk of rejection will be much lower.

Poland's success in 3D printing

In March 2019, the media was buzzing about the big success of the Poles, who managed to print the first fully functional pancreas prototype. The team, led by Michal Wszola, MD, immediately after printing the organ, began testing it on animals. The results were very promising, and the material from which the pancreas was made turned out to be completely non-toxic. The organ was functional, and as a result, the team is preparing to carry out further research, which will ultimately allow the developed technology to be developed to the point where further tests can be carried out with the human body. However, due to a number of difficulties and requirements for printing, such as creating the right human-like conditions in a bioreactor, the topic of 3D printing still remains future topic. Creating a fully functional organ ready to be implanted in the human body is problematic and requires a lot of research and testing.

Is printing organs at home in the future possible?

All biological prints must be printed on special 3D bioprinters. Although such a printer can be created on its own (which, according to Carnegie Mellon University researchers, can be built for as little as $500), it still has to meet a number of requirements and standards, because in order to print an organ you need living cells that must be kept in the right conditions, which is not easy to achieve.

What's more, anything that is implanted in the human body must be manufactured on certified equipment that complies with medical standards. Therefore, even if we build the bioprinter ourselves - it will not be certified and therefore bioprinting at home will not be possible. The material produced must be biocompatible - otherwise it may cause undesirable effects in the human body, in addition, legal regulations are also another obstacle.

Brain bio

Researchers from the University of Montreal, the Federal University of Santa Catarina and Concordia University have announced that they have successfully printed living mouse brain cells using bioprinting technology. The vast majority of neurons were still alive two days after being printed. Numerous studies have been conducted to determine the cells' abilities, which could greatly help the development of this market.

However, despite numerous advances in this field, cell replacements and printing fully
of a functioning brain is still a question of the future. We need a lot of research, testing, time and financial help to make the bioprinting commercializable.

Success getting closer

Tissue engineering is a field that solves many medical problems. However, despite numerous innovations and research, we still have to wait for this market to develop, and for the implantation of organs produced with a bioprinter to become the norm. The joint efforts of doctors and scientists are increasingly yielding promising results, and we can hear in the media about further successes in transplantation using this technology. The development of this field is extremely important and could completely revolutionize the world of medicine, saving many lives.