We may not have flying cars yet, but 3D printed organs? This sci-fi fantasy came a step closer to reality thanks to a fast 3D printing method developed by the engineers at the University of Buffalo.
Their work was recently included in a study published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials, which you can read on here, and is also shown in the frankly unsettling gif above. This accelerated footage shows a 3D printer fully building an artificial hand in just 19 minutes, a task that would take six hours using conventional 3D printing methods, the team said.
“The technology we developed is 10-50 times faster than the industry standard and works with large sample sizes that were very difficult to achieve previously,” said study co-author Ruogang Zhao, associate professor of biomedicine engineering at university in a press release Friday.
The process depends on stereolithography, a long-standing 3D printing method that uses lasers to harden liquid resin and gelatinous substances called hydrogels, which can absorb large amounts of water without dissolving. Hydrogels are commonly used in commercial products, such as contact lenses, glue, and disposable diapers, although scientists have also experimented with them in potential biomedic treatments.
According to the researchers, this method is particularly suitable for correctly printing all the tiny details in cells with built-in blood vessel networks, something that is expected to play a critical role in the eventual production of 3D printed human tissues and organs.
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“Our method allows for quick printing of centimeter hydrogel models. It significantly reduces the deformation of parts and cell injuries caused by prolonged exposure to environmental stresses that you commonly see in conventional 3D printing methods, ”said the study’s other co-author, Chi Zhou, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering at University .
The team’s research was funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Images and Bioengineering and the National Institutes of Health, as well as by the UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, according to the press release.
The idea of 3D printed organs still seems futuristic nonsense to me, but I suppose if you can already eat 3D printed meat on a 3D printed house where do you keep your 3D printed weapon, then the sky is the limit.