Scientists in Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) want to build personalized, 3D-printed organs on-demand—and has secured a $9 million deal with private industry. Additive Manufacturing is a key strength of the IU lab; it’s one of only two academic labs in the country to have a cutting-edge Cyfuse Regenova 3D bioprinter. The technology prints “scaffold-free” biological tissue, it means free-standing tissue that doesn’t require a scaffold to support it. (Read More about Medicine & 3D Printing)
The school’s xenotransplantation research lab is led byIUSM Assistant Professor of Surgery Dr. Burcin Ekser and the mission is to produce 3D printed organs from one species to another. The research centers on pigs because their organs and physiology closely resemble humans.
The IU team, which includes Dr. Lester Smith and Dr. Ping Li, has another critical area of expertise: “perfusing,” which means pumping human blood through the pig organ model to mimic what would happen in the body,
“so we can get the immunological response we want based on the gene combinations,” -Ekser.
The stature and accomplishments of the IU lab helped it recently earn a $9 million grant from Lung Biotechnology PBC. Ekser states the funding and exchange of knowledge between IU and Lung Biotechnology will speed the two entities closer to their common goal: organs on-demand.
“So people go to the hospital in the future, and we will print the organ you need—it’s also called personalized medicine,” …, “Then we basically will not have any shortage of organs, and our hope—my aim as a transplant surgeon—is that no one will die while they’re waiting for a transplantable organ. The aim [of the collaboration]is to advance the field, so we can reach that goal as soon as possible.”
Now Additive Manufacturing and perfusing mice-size models, the IU lab will focus on gradually stepping up in size—building toward its mission of making life-saving organs.
additivenews.com
- Sources & More information
-
Related article categories:
Medical and dentalArticle and featured image:
Source: Inside Indiana Business http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/story/38530159/partnership-puts-iu-closer-to-3d-printing-transplantable-organs, visited on Jul 11, 2018;
