Israeli researchers have printed the world’s first 3-D vascularized, engineered heart using human tissue. They used a patient’s own cells and biological material and the heart has blood vessels.
The 3-D heart produced at TAU is only the size of a rabbit heart but larger human hearts could be produced using the same technology.
The next step is to teach the hearts to behave like human hearts. They will transplant them into animals and eventually into humans. It will be ten years before there are the first 3D printed heart transplants.
3D printing is a promising approach for engineering whole organs.
They still need efficient produce a lot more stem cells (iPSCs) for many large, functioning organs. New bioengineering approaches are needed to provide long‐term cultivation of the organs and efficient mass transfer, while supplying biochemical and physical cues for maturation.
The printed blood vessel network demonstrated in this study is still limited. Strategies to image the entire blood vessels of the heart and to incorporate them in the blueprint of the organ are required. Advanced technologies to precisely print small‐diameter blood vessels within thick structures needs to be developed.
Advanced Science – 3D Printing of Personalized Thick and Perfusable Cardiac Patches and Hearts
Abstract
Generation of thick vascularized tissues that fully match the patient still remains an unmet challenge in cardiac tissue engineering. Here, a simple approach to 3D‐print thick, vascularized, and perfusable cardiac patches that completely match the immunological, cellular, biochemical, and anatomical properties of the patient is reported. To this end, a biopsy of an omental tissue is taken from patients. While the cells are reprogrammed to become pluripotent stem cells, and differentiated to cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells, the extracellular matrix is processed into a personalized hydrogel. Following, the two cell types are separately combined with hydrogels to form bioinks for the parenchymal cardiac tissue and blood vessels. The ability to print functional vascularized patches according to the patient’s anatomy is demonstrated. Blood vessel architecture is further improved by mathematical modeling of oxygen transfer. The structure and function of the patches are studied in vitro, and cardiac cell morphology is assessed after transplantation, revealing elongated cardiomyocytes with massive actinin striation. Finally, as a proof of concept, cellularized human hearts with a natural architecture are printed. These results demonstrate the potential of the approach for engineering personalized tissues and organs, or for drug screening in an appropriate anatomical structure and patient‐specific biochemical microenvironment.
SOURCES- Advanced Science, Jeruselam Post
Written By Brian Wang, Nextbigfuture.com
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
And, in the absence of a Comic Code Authority (or any need for a PG rating) it probably splits its pants.
But, it also turns green and unstoppable if it gets angry.
That’s your narrow conclusions. I am aiming toward all rounded review of the information in every case rather than relying solely on easy to observe and describe processes.
You would have made perfect duets with Star Trek’s Spock.
Hope to never need your inventions.
But I have to admit that I feel more relaxed just reading what you write.
That could also be good if you are satisfied to reach 100 or so. We’d like to live
at least many centuries, and for this there is no hope without modern science.
Ironic that your prescription of a more ‘holistic’ lifestyle for a longer, ‘better’ life is tied to a complaint against cause and effect. Logic is not your strong suit, is it?
Why stop at a replacement heart? As long as we are refabricating in there, why not put in two hearts, each big enough to limp by on if the other one fails?
Dear Sirs, DARPA did research on the effects of hard radiations from atomic bomb explosions on living things. They found that low dosages of Gamma rays applied to trees, vegetables, fungi and cockroaches makes them GROW EXPLOSIVELY. So, if we can 3D print a human organ, but it is too SMALL to transplant what if we zapped it with Gamma rays, and then transplanted inside a human body, so that this organ will GROW EXPLOSIVELY inside that biological venue, into a fully sized and fully functional organ?
Faith community purpose and all the nutrients of life. Eventually science shows that as well. Only people with a very narrow linear mind can accept a science only based on defined materialistic cause and effect, we are way more that this description..
So Kimhi is in to faith healing. Wait until he gets appendicitis.
Well, it highly depends on how unhealthy your current lifestyle is. If you practice extreme calorie restriction on top of having good medical help you might get 10 to 15 years more. So if the average life expectancy is about 78, you could live to 90… If your start befotb you turn 40… Not that impressive but that comes with health benefits. ..
Senolitics might bring same benefits in pill, n another hand.
So it is not at most 5 years but probably 10 to 15.
Obviously you are ignoring most knowledge we have on healing and health. Don’t think that this knowledge is transmitted to how we practice medicine but rather to benefit all kind of mega society mindsets including commercial interest and simple cause and effect material science that serve this mindset. Not sure how healthy Hippies life style is and how healthy hippies are in general, but check out how healthy people in blue zones are. We can go even further with the right science!
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/blue-zones#section8
https://www.bluezones.com/2018/01/20-habits-healthier-happier-life/
Now to work out the nerves to make it beat properly.
And run sufficient long term tests to show it won’t suddenly stop 5 years from now.
Boy! Just think down the road. People won’t have to worry about waiting for a donor heart, the worry about organ rejection. Hope this process continues!
“…The next step is to teach the hearts to behave like human hearts…”
This is just all the right kinds of meat in the shape of a heart, does that mean it’s a heart?
If that was the case, hippies would live forever!
Given that’s not the case, we really need novel approaches for regenerative medicine, like this one.
3D-printed hearts, kidneys and other organs would have a strong impact on quality of life for many, and probably upon general lifespan as well.
You are wrong on all points. No amount of diet, perfect lifestyle etc will extend healthy lifespan by more than 5 to 7 years (depending on a country). Modern medicine is a lot more than what you seem to suggest . Drustically improved health and life span is comming through genetic manipulation and 3d organ printing as well as nanotechnology.
This is so cool and way sooner than expected in the professional community.
Due to lack of trust of our abilities we happily keep envisioning and racing toward a frankensteinean future rather than working on a wholesome healing for the human race. We could restore the benefits of the environment, life style and healthy nutrition we use to enjoy till few hundreds years ago that kept modern diseases almost completely away without sacrificing our 21st affluence, but instead enhancing it. As for the rest, we could bring holistic medicine to a whole new level and implement it for the general population, finding imbalances way before they cause any disease and finding the most fundamental and simple balancing agent or act which could be an addition of a certain nutrient to the diet, herbs, sunlight, exercise, more sleep, barefoot walking, steam sauna, emotional healing etc. And if that doesn’t help, modern medicine would do very little either.