3D printing technology holds a lot of potential value in the medical industry, especially when it comes to bioprinting functional implants from human cells. After forming a partnership with Denver’s 3D Printing Store, researchers from Denver University have been experimenting with a BioBot 1 bioprinter, one of the most affordable bioprinters on the market at only $10,000. With their desktop bioprinter as a starting point, the Denver University research team is looking to one day provide patients with bioficial tissue and organ replacements.
“We’re really trying to take what’s become an accessible tool and use the most sophisticated thinking that we can to create something that will benefit all people,” Denver University graduate research assistant Ben Stewart said to the Denver 7 News Channel.
Denver University researchers are aiming to 3D print made-to-order functional organ and tissue replicas, and have already begun printing custom heart valve replicas generated from patient-specific MRI and CT scans. The 3D bioprinted heart valve was constructed in a mere 22 minutes, but the team is still working towards making these artificial parts fully biocompatible. In order to accomplish this, the researchers need a bioreactor chamber to bond the human cells with the 3D printed heart valve. Though they still have a ways to go, the ultimate goal is to provide patients who are in need of a heart valve, particularly children, with biocompatible 3D printed implants that would eliminate the multiple invasive surgeries generally performed under the traditional prosthetic-based procedure.
“So those patients typically need to go through multiple surgeries for their aortic valve,” said Dr. Ali Azadani, the Director of the Denver University Cardiac Biomechanics Lab. “That’s very invasive, and that’s not the best approach. By designing tissue engineered valves, we can implant a valve in the heart that can grow with the child.”
The BioBot line, one of which was purchased by the 3D Printing Store and brought into the Denver University research laboratory, has gained fame from researchers for its accessible approach to bioprinting. The Denver University research team has proven that the affordable and reliable BioBot is foreshadowing a bright future for 3D bioprinting technology. Though this race has just gotten started a couple of years ago, Denver University and the 3D Printing Store are looking to help innovate the medical field by printing functional and biologically sound implants with living human cells.
“It’s not like there’s been this huge body of research out there that we can go and look at and learn from,” said Debra Wilcox, the co-founder of the 3D Printing Store. “We are writing that book, and they’re writing important chapters right here at DU.”
