The human heart is one of the most important and amazing organs along with its complex structure as well as functioning. If it is functioning well, then all goes well, however, a minor problem in this organ could cause major damage in future. In the case of heart failure, transplantation is the only solution, However, it is very costly and rejected by the body for 20-30 years later. So, the kids suffering from heats defects, their lifetime is scarily short.
To deal with this situation, a Scientist team lead by Mark Skylar-Scott from Stanford University has started working on the 3D-printed heart. Their team are able to make a complex structure of layered heart tissue (cm thick) by 3d bioprinting.
How do they Print Organoid
As we are already aware of that 3d printing can be utilized in various fields like medicine, energy, space, manufacturing transportation etc. The team of Skylar-Scott and his team have developed a cm-thick layer (one layer at a time) by placing the exact type of cells required at that position. There are many challenges in the printing of alive cells as they cannot be heated and squeezed like plastic materials. Also, the cells are soft, squishy, and fragile which is also a hurdle in the case of 3d printing.
Time taken to Print One Layer of 3D-Heart
Another challenge in this field is making it scalable as printing one layer at a time could take 100 or 1000 years to make a heart or liver. “Skylar-Scott and his lab are working to speed up the printing process by laying down dense clumps of cells called organoids.” as reported in the news. They have taken genetically modified stem cells and created a paste-like substance. Using this paste they are able to print a large number of cells simultaneously and called it organoids.
However, they haven’t developed the whole organ due to scalable challenges, and the complex nature of the cell, but it could cut the first turf.