Consumer 3D printing and bioprinting are growing at an incredible rate in terms of innovation and enthusiasm. Although fully functional and complex 3D printed organs may realistically be as far away as two or more decades, technological evolution is moving so fast that even that paradigm may be questioned. And the new BioAssemblyBot, launched by Kentucky-based Advanced Solutions on August 1st, intends to do just that, by 3D printing a functioning human heart.
Full organ fabrication needs multiple multi-axis robotic arms working together to assemble 3D structures. With that in mind, Advanced Solutions has introduced BAB, a six-axis robotic arm for 3D biofabrication. The robot is defined as an integrated tablet workstation with a multi-axis robot that facilitates 3D tissue assembly into organic shapes. At $160,000, it’s capable of achieving the surgical precision required to assemble functional tissue structures.
While it hopes to print a functioning heart in the near future, Advanced Solutions might be a bit too optimistic in its outlook, as the first applications of biological, artificial, organs are still 3 to 5 years away. And there are possible regulatory limitations, as the FDA does not yet have specific guidelines regulating biofabrication. Also, building a working human heart will not just require pluripotent cell assembly, but also capillarization. But, just six months ago there was no artificial capillariazion method and no multi-axis bioassembly robots. With BAB, we have both. And artificial organs are closer than ever.
