Three dimensional printing has positively exploded in recent years, printing everything from a fully functional firearm to a working bionic ear. While the idea of 3-D printing has been around for decades, in the last few years it has officially crossed the threshold into reality. The Economist predicts it will “disrupt everything it touches.”
Well, not everything. In Louisville, instead of disrupting, it saved a child’s life. According to the Courier journal[2], the University of Louisville’s engineering team used two-dimensional heart scans to print an exact 3-D replica of a child’s heart, so that a surgeon could operate on an otherwise fragile heart with defects, without using “exploratory incisions.” The use of this model allowed the surgeon to see precisely what was wrong and where, as a heart surgeon often doesn’t have the benefit of eyeing his difficulties in the manner a carpenter or sculptor could.
Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have successfully engineered micro-robots capable of eventually assembling tissues.[3] The micro-robots are controlled by magnetic fields, and move a single hydrogel capsule at a time – an incredibly complex task due to the sensitivity to the types of cells and subsequent placement. Metin Setti, professor of Mechanical Engineering and the head of NanoRobotics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University said “Our work will revolutionize three-dimensional precise assembly of complex and heterogeneous tissue engineering building blocks and serve to improve complexity and understanding of tissue engineering systems.”
Engineers have already “printed” organs, such as a liver that functioned normally for forty days in a lab. The problem is integration into a sustainable host, and hence, a truly functional organ that could provide a life-saving transplant. While cells tend to organize themselves correctly, the lack of structure can often prove to be technically demanding for fabricating potential implants; likewise, using a structural support can prove its own challenges as well – creating such a substance that knows when to dissolve without harming cells is problematic.
“Bio-printing” has also replicated living cancerous cells with which researchers can study cancer. The Department of Defense has awarded grants to create specific organs with the intention of studying chemical agents. Pharmaceutical companies are developing various organs to test and research new cures. The new wave of revolutionary technology is here, right in front of our faces, and its possibilities are literally endless. The word “inconceivable” has lost its intrinsic meaning.
Technical innovations are fueling the competition among businesses – and not just in the medical field. There are applications from the military to children’s toys, and everything in between. Dunhill Staffing Systems is an expert in recruiting highly skilled engineers in the Southeast region. If you are in need of engineering talent, please contact us today!
