How are 3D Organs Used?

What Is Organ Printing?

Organ printing is simply using 3D printers to construct body parts and organs.

During 3D bioprinting, informatics and computer-aided design software play a critical role in transforming virtual 3D bioimaging knowledge about human tissue and organs into actual construction. Design plans for 3D printing of human organs, as well as predictive computer simulations of both printing and post-printing processes, are made possible by information technology.

3D bioprinting is now considered an emerging information technology that blends the practical use of existing information technology tools with the advancement of alternative technological platforms consisting of human tissue and organ analytics, virtual human organs, numerical tools, and predictive simulation software of 3D bioprinting organs. It's important to note that tissue fusion and advancement are critical technical prerequisites for organ bioprinting to continue.

How Did 3D Organ Printing Come About?

Organ printing is an idea that has been around for over a decade. Organ printing developed from a study of stereolithography, which is the basis for 3D printing.

In the early 1990s, nanocomposites were introduced, allowing 3D printed things to be more robust and 3D printed objects to be used for purposes other than modeling. In essence, it is a biomedical application of rapid manufacturing or 3D printing technology.

Because the materials used in the early days of 3D printing were brittle, it was tough to develop long-lasting outputs. As a result, 3D printing was first only used to prototype potential end products that would eventually be made from several materials using more traditional methods.

The process of converting a digital representation of an object into material reality is known as 3D Printing. As a result, information technology has become an essential component of organ printing.

Data is a vital feature of 3D bioprinting technology and it is slowly and steadily increasing in importance.  Meanwhile, computer-aided bioengineering is progressively emerging.

The first time the technique of imprinting was first demonstrated was in 1988. At the time, a modified HP inkjet printer was used to deposit cells. This didn't have the desired results, but it was a start.

Finally, In 1999, a team of scientists led by Dr. Anthony Atala produced the first artificial organ constructed via bioprinting.  Researchers of the Wake Forest institute manufactured an artificial scaffold for a human bladder and then seeded it with cells from their patient.  They were able to produce a working organ using this procedure, and the patient had no major issues ten years after implantation. This was the future of healthcare.

3D Organ Printing in Healthcare

The usage of 3D printers has become one of how the medical business has been developed and enhanced. In a variety of methods, 3D printing in healthcare allows medical practitioners to give patients novel treatments. 3D printing is utilized to create innovative surgical cutting and drill guides, prosthetics, and patient-specific replicas of bones, organs, and blood arteries.

Recent 3D printing advancements in healthcare have resulted in lighter, stronger, and safer items, as well as shorter lead times and lower costs. Custom pieces can be made to fit each individual. This improves medical providers' understanding of patients and increases patient comfort by allowing contact with devices that are suited for them.

Requirements for 3D Printing in Healthcare

1.      Modification

Because healthcare is highly precise, 3D printing is an ideal answer for this sector. Rather than producing a huge number of similar pieces, 3D printing enables the development of artificial limbs and orthotic devices that are specifically adjusted to a patient's specific anatomy. As a result, their durability improves.

2.      Stages

The process of creating new tools can be time-consuming and costly. Whether made in-house or outsourced. Any time being wasted can practically be life-threatening in critical scenarios. 3D printing in healthcare gives designers and engineers the ability to quickly create and iterate on designs.

In addition to speedier designing, realistic prototypes can improve communication. Feedback from doctors and patients is critical to the success of any medical device. When combined with the speed with which these design enhancements can be deployed.

Because the 3D printer is so precise, custom parts can be created and printed in record time. It is possible to iterate the design of a medical tool in a matter of hours.

3.      Costs

Creating unique parts and gadgets necessitates a great deal of attention to detail. When the process is conducted manually, there is a danger of human error, which could cause cost and time delays. However, 3D printing allows surgeons to produce numerous iterations before printing, allowing them to discover any potential flaws and ensure that the final product is flawless.

Bioprinting in healthcare is best suited for low volume production, which means if the usefulness and success rate rise, the cost required for the procedure will be less. Expensive tooling or machining techniques are no longer required. Waste is also eliminated, which lowers costs even further.

How to Print an Organ in 3D

The use of 3D printing to create artificial organs is a topic that has been gaining some attention in the Biomedic space. The applicability of 3D printing in artificial organ synthesis has become more apparent as the quick manufacturing procedures suggested by 3D printing become more efficient.

The ability to mass-produce structures, as well as the high degree of anatomical precision in products, are two major advantages of 3D printing. This enables the development of constructions that more closely approximate the microstructure of a natural organ or tissue. 

Organ printing with 3D printing can be done in a variety of ways, each with its own set of benefits that are best suited to specific types of organ creation.

Here are some of the 3D printers used in organ printing

●        SWIFT (Sacrificial Writing into Functional Tissue)

SWIFT (sacrificial writing into function tissue) is an organ printing technique in which living cells are packed densely to simulate the density found in the human body. Tunnels are carved to resemble blood veins during packing, and oxygen and critical nutrients are given through these tunnels.

Other approaches that only packed cells or generated vasculature are combined in this technique. SWIFT integrates the two, bringing researchers one step closer to constructing functional artificial organs.

●       (Inkjet) Drop-based Bioprinting

Drop-based bioprinting creates cellular developments by using droplets of a specific substance, which is frequently paired with a cell line. Cells can be placed in this manner as well, with or without polymer. When employing these technologies to print polymer scaffolds, each drop begins to polymerize upon contact with the substrate surface and coalesces into a bigger structure.

Depending on the polymer, polymerization can take place in a variety of ways. Calcium ions in the substrate, for example, initiate alginate polymerization by diffusing into the liquified bioink and allowing the formation of a strong gel. Because of its efficiency, drop-based bioprinting is widely used. However, this may make it less suitable for larger groups.

●         Extrusion Bioprinting

Extrusion bioprinting involves a portable print head delivering a consistent statement of a given printing fabric and cell line. This is a more controlled and softer approach to fabric or cell declaration, allowing for higher cell densities to be used in the construction of 3D tissue or organ architectures.

In any case, these advantages are hampered by the procedure's slower printing speeds. UV light is typically used in conjunction with extrusion bioprinting to make use of photopolymerization on the printed fabric and create a more stable, coordinated structure.

The powdered material is used as the substrate for printing new items in selective laser sintering (SLS). Metal, plastic, and ceramic things can all be made with SLS. To sinter powdered material, this approach uses a laser that is controlled by a computer as the power source.

The laser traces a cross-section of the desired object's shape in the powder, fusing it to form a solid. After that, a new coating of powder is applied, and the process is repeated. Building each layer one by one with each successive application of powder to complete the object. SLS printing has the advantage of requiring very little extra tooling, such as sanding, once the object has been printed.

3d Printing — How It Has Helped

Organ printing for medical uses is still in its early phases of development. As a result, the long-term effects of organ printing are unknown. However, there is a lot of time and effort going into it because researchers want organ printing to alleviate the shortage of organ transplant organ

Organ transplant is something that has always been a call for concern. Livets, kidneys, and lungs are currently in limited supply and the waiting period for these organ transplants is enough to kill the hope one may have, and can also lead to death.

The bladder is currently the only organ that has been 3D printed and successfully transplanted into a human.  The bladder was produced from the host's bladder tissue.

One bright side to Additive manufacturing is that it doesn't need animal testing. The ability to print skin increases efficiency and decreases the need for animal testing.

With 3D printing, labor costs are kept to a minimum. Unlike traditional methods, where multiple people may be required to operate a variety of machinery or where the product must be assembled on a production line. To start the machine and begin the automated process of creating the uploaded design, each 3D printer will require an operator. As a result, labor expenses are far lower than in traditional production.

Complexities of 3D Organ Printing

One of the most difficult aspects of 3D printing organs is generating the necessary vasculature to keep the organs alive. Proper vascular design is required for the movement of nutrients, oxygen, and waste.  Because of their small diameter, blood vessels, particularly capillaries, are difficult to operate on. 

The issue of reproducing the other minute characteristics of organs, however, comes with this technology. The intricate networks of airways, blood vessels, and bile ducts, as well as the complicated architecture of organs, are difficult to recreate.

The difficulties in the field of organ printing go beyond the research and development of procedures to address concerns like multi vascularization and complex geometries. Before organ printing may become widely available, a sustainable cell supply must be identified, as well as large-scale manufacturing procedures.

Designing clinical trials to verify the long-term survival and biocompatibility of synthetic organs is another challenge. Although there is a significant advancement in organ printing, there is still a long way to go.

In comparison to other production methods, 3D printers are slow when it comes to producing a large number of products. Another disadvantage, in addition to mass production, is the long printing time for one-of-a-kind prints.

It can take several hours to days to print, depending on the printer size and quality, but if the printer fails when it's almost done, you'll have to start over. However, if the 3D model and print file are well-designed and sliced, and the printer is properly configured, you can practically guarantee a faultless print.

Conclusion

Traditional manufacturing may struggle to develop organ and body parts that are functional and aesthetically pleasing, but 3D organ printing promises a bright future in developing improved and quality prosthetics and organs. The use of modern technology and high-tech software enables the development of body parts with increased strength while being lightweight. This could be a promise for the healthcare sector in the future.