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TECH: 3D Bioprinting
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3D Bioprinting
Why it is a Game Changer for the Global Healthcare Industry
By Stella Law

BT 201906 TECH 013D 生物打印
为什么它是全球医疗行业的规则改变者

随着3D打印技术的快速发展,在实验室中人工创造人体皮肤,组织,骨骼和内脏的想法不再遥远。但这并不意味着3D打印机构将在未来三五年或者十年内彻底改变全球医疗行业。 但从其发展的速度来判断,可以相信生物打印终将作为可预见的未来可行的治疗方案整合到全球医疗产业中。

一些基本的概念可以帮助您更好地理解什么是3D生物打印,以及为什么它被认为是一种革命性的技术。

3D打印的概述

3D打印更像是一种制造工艺,它涉及在二维平面上印刷文字或图像。

各种3D打印机可以满足各种用途,通过添加连续的材料层来创建对象,直到获得所需的形状和尺寸。

生物打印的基础

生物打印机通常配备生产可溶解的合成和有机凝胶,以帮助细胞能恰到好处的定位自己。一旦就位,这些细胞就开始寻找并与相似的细胞结合以构建组织或细胞网络。 虽然潜在的过程要复杂得多,但它的工作方式或多或少与胚胎中的细胞组织发育阶段相似。

不同类型的生物打印机

世界各地的研究人员正在试验几种不同类型的生物打印机。

截至今天,最常用的生物打印方法包括喷墨,微阀,激光,组织碎片和挤出印刷。

一旦生物打印技术足够先进,就能够构建包含几种或所有这些技术的打印机。

生物打印器官仍然是一项艰巨的挑战,研究人员尚未发明生产复杂人体器官所需的足够先进的生物打印技术。业界的共识是,生物打印技术足够成熟,至少还需要十年。

精准打印复制人体的内部器官任务非常艰巨,人体器官细胞组织非常复杂,人工制造器官之路非常漫长。但是研究仍在继续,技术也在日新月异。
总而言之,保持耐心,谨慎前行,当世界各地的医生越来越倾向于采用涉及基于3D打印技术的治疗技术时,它的成熟之路就不再遥远。

BT 201906 TECH 09For most people, the idea that fully functional human skin, tissues, bones, and internal organs can be artificially created in a laboratory may seem like a distant dream. The reality, however, is that the rapid advancement of 3D printing technology is translating that seemingly sci-fi concept into a science fact faster than most of us had probably anticipated.
 

The process of artificially producing biomedical parts using 3D printing technology is commonly referred to as bioprinting. And it’s important to note here that this author is not implying 3D printed organs will be revolutionizing the global healthcare industry in the next 2/3/5 or even 10 years. It’s hard to predict a definitive timeline (although some 3D printed biological devices are already in use on a small scale).
 

However, judging by the pace at which it is evolving, it makes sense to believe that bioprinting will be integrated into the global health industry as a viable treatment alternative within the foreseeable future.
 

Meanwhile, for those out of the loop, here’s a rundown of some of the essential concepts that can help you understand better what 3D bioprinting is all about, and why exactly it is considered as a revolutionary technology.
 

3D Printing in a Nutshell

BT 201906 TECH 023D printing is basically the process of producing three-dimensional objects using a digital blueprint. It is more of a manufacturing process, unlike conventional printing, which involves literally printing texts or images on a two-dimensional flat surface.
 

3D printers, of which there are many varieties to cater to a diverse range of purposes, go about their business using additive processes. Simply put, an additive process is where an object is created by adding successive layers of material until the desired shape and size is obtained.

BT 201906 TECH 04This is diametrically opposite to conventional manufacturing, which relies on subtractive processes, i.e. the removal of sections of the source material by machining or manually cutting it away.
 

That is why 3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing. One major advantage of additive manufacturing is that it allows you to build more complex objects using considerably less material.
 

3D printers typically use materials like polymer, ceramic, metal, or even edible materials.
 

Basics of Bioprinting

BT 201906 TECH 03Bioprinters borrow their modus operandi from the same concept that powers 3D printers. The only major difference is unlike 3D printers, bioprinters use biomaterial, such as living cells, to build biomedical objects. A couple of typical examples being skin tissues or blood vessels.
 

The process involves taking cells from the patient and then cultivating them over a period to accumulate enough bio-substance to use as the source material (or the “ink” for the bioprinter).

BT 201906 TECH 06Bioprinters are usually equipped to produce dissolvable synthetic and organic gels to aid the manufacturing process as and when needed. In some cases, such gels are not required if the cells are capable of positioning themselves just right without calling for any external support.
 

Once in position, these cells turn to their inherent traits to seek and combine with similar cells to build tissues or other cellular networks. While the underlying process is much more complicated, it works more or less the same way as cells in an embryo organize themselves and coordinate with one-other during the developmental phase of a foetus in the womb.
 

To make the process fool proof, engineers can assume control and refine the shape as required before the bioprinter produces the final structure.

BT 201906 TECH 07Different Types of Bioprinters

Because it is a relatively new technology, researchers across the world are experimenting with several different types of bioprinters. This is why you can find a number of different methods for the (common) objective of delivering biomaterials and cells.
 

As of today, the most commonly used bioprinting methods include inkjet, micro valves, laser, tissue fragment, and extrusion printing.
 

Worth noting here is that many researchers are convinced that once bioprinting technology is sufficiently advanced, they will be able to build printers encompassing several or all of these techniques.

BT 201906 TECH 08Bioprinting Organs is Still a Formidable Challenge

Promising as it is, researchers are yet to invent sufficiently advanced bioprinting technology required to produce complex human organs. The general consensus is that it will take at least another decade before the underlying technology matures enough to enable the bioprinting complex internal organs, such as kidneys or hearts.
 

The challenge here is to obtain the level of accuracy needed to successfully replicate the working of a vital internal organ. Each human organ consists of an extensive and complex network of cells, nerves, tissues, and other structures, all of which must be positioned with near 100% accuracy for the artificially created organ to function adequately.

BT 201906 TECH 10So, you can imagine the level of effort needed to bioprint, say, several thousands of capillaries without which the liver can’t function properly. Despite these intrinsic complexities, bioprinting technologies and know-how are rapidly evolving, with researchers attaining new highs with every passing day.
 

In conclusion, while we need to be patient (no pun intended) and cautious in offsetting expectations against reality, it is also a widely recognized fact that the day is not too far when doctors around the world will gravitate more and more towards treatment procedures involving techniques based on 3D printing tech.

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