3-D-printed organs are on the way# Stock
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3-D-printed organs are on the way
By James O'Toole @jtotoole November 4, 2014: 12:41 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Add one more to the growing list of 3-D-printed products: human organs.
California-based biotech firm Organovo (ONVO) is set to begin selling 3-D-
printed liver tissue by the end of the year, part of the growing movement to
bring the technology to the medical field.
Organovo can't yet print a fully functioning liver. But the company has
already been working with a handful of laboratories to manufacture live
liver tissue, offering scientists a new way to conduct research.
"This gives researchers the kind of tool that they just haven't had in the
past," said Michael Renard, executive vice president at Organovo. "They can'
t do the kind of experiments on a person that they can do with this tissue
in a lab setting."
Related: The next frontier in 3-D printing is human organs
Within the next few years, Renard says 3-D-printed tissues could also be
used in patient treatment, to replace small parts or organs or encourage
cell regeneration.
So how do you print human tissue?
The process starts when scientists grow human cells from biopsies or stem
cells. They then feed the cells into special printers that can arrange them
three-dimensionally by cell type in the way that they'd appear in the human
body.
Once the cells have been printed in the right arrangement, they begin to
signal to one another, fuse and organize themselves into a collective system.
Renard didn't want to speculate on when the printing of whole organs might
become a reality, but many researchers are excited about the possibility and
its implications for transplant procedures.
The technology has already been used to make functioning prosthetics and
replacement bones. But organs, which comprise many different types of living
cells and need nourishment from the circulatory system, are a more
difficult proposition.
Related: 3-D printed drones
That hasn't stopped scientists from trying, however. Harvard researchers are
at work trying to print functioning human kidneys, while a team at the
University of Louisville is trying to produce a 3-D-printed heart.
There's still a lot more research to be done -- and regulatory approval to
be secured -- but researchers at Organovo and elsewhere are feeling
optimistic.
"We believe this technology could very much be transformational," Renard
said.
First Published: November 4, 2014: 9:50 AM ET
By James O'Toole @jtotoole November 4, 2014: 12:41 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
Add one more to the growing list of 3-D-printed products: human organs.
California-based biotech firm Organovo (ONVO) is set to begin selling 3-D-
printed liver tissue by the end of the year, part of the growing movement to
bring the technology to the medical field.
Organovo can't yet print a fully functioning liver. But the company has
already been working with a handful of laboratories to manufacture live
liver tissue, offering scientists a new way to conduct research.
"This gives researchers the kind of tool that they just haven't had in the
past," said Michael Renard, executive vice president at Organovo. "They can'
t do the kind of experiments on a person that they can do with this tissue
in a lab setting."
Related: The next frontier in 3-D printing is human organs
Within the next few years, Renard says 3-D-printed tissues could also be
used in patient treatment, to replace small parts or organs or encourage
cell regeneration.
So how do you print human tissue?
The process starts when scientists grow human cells from biopsies or stem
cells. They then feed the cells into special printers that can arrange them
three-dimensionally by cell type in the way that they'd appear in the human
body.
Once the cells have been printed in the right arrangement, they begin to
signal to one another, fuse and organize themselves into a collective system.
Renard didn't want to speculate on when the printing of whole organs might
become a reality, but many researchers are excited about the possibility and
its implications for transplant procedures.
The technology has already been used to make functioning prosthetics and
replacement bones. But organs, which comprise many different types of living
cells and need nourishment from the circulatory system, are a more
difficult proposition.
Related: 3-D printed drones
That hasn't stopped scientists from trying, however. Harvard researchers are
at work trying to print functioning human kidneys, while a team at the
University of Louisville is trying to produce a 3-D-printed heart.
There's still a lot more research to be done -- and regulatory approval to
be secured -- but researchers at Organovo and elsewhere are feeling
optimistic.
"We believe this technology could very much be transformational," Renard
said.
First Published: November 4, 2014: 9:50 AM ET
