- This topic has 0 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 9 years, 9 months ago by
.
-
Posts
-
Researchers Print Blood Vessels from Ink Jet Printer
Japanese researchers have devised a way to print new blood vessels from an ink jet printer
Doctors
performing artery bypass surgery replace clogged arteries with veins
from the inner thigh of the same patient. This vein, the great
saphenous vein, is the longest in the human body and can easily be
removed if a patient needs a bypass.However, this approach has its
limitations. The patient must have good collateral blood flow and the
very long incision can run nearly the entire length of the leg. Ask a
few post operation bypass patients and many of them will tell you that
the pain from the removal of the great saphenous is often worse than
the heart surgery itself.Researchers from Tokyo Medical and Dental
University and Kanagawa Academy of Science and Technology have some
promising research that could make the removal of the great saphenous
vein unnecessary in future coronary artery bypass operations.The
technology they are developing allows them to print new blood vessels
and capillaries from an ink jet printer. The ink used in the technology
is made from artificial cells and medical gel in a solution of calcium
chloride. This ink solidifies into a tube with a lining of endothelial
cells and an outer case of smooth muscle cells.The technology isn’t
mature enough yet to replace the veins from a patients own body with
researchers only being able to create a prototype vessel with an inner
diameter of 1 mm and a length of 1 cm. The prototype isn’t strong
enough to support blood flow yet either. Tech.co.uk says that once the
technology is more mature and robust there is no reason why scientists
can’t build up artificial organs from layered, printed sheets using the
technology.The process used in this research is very similar to the
research being carried out to help combat diseases like Duchenne
Muscular Dystrophy and other autoimmune disease by Carnegie Melon’s
Institute for Complex engineering Systems and the Carnegie Mellon
Robotics Institute.This research was aimed at using ink-jet printing
technology to print out muscle and bone cells and uses Stem cells as a
component of their ink. The printer developed in the Carnegie Mellon
research deposited and immobilized growth factors in virtually any
design, pattern or concentration. The patterns were laid down on
extracellular matrix-coated slides. The slides were topped with
muscle-derived stem cells and directed differentiate into different
pathways to make bone or muscle.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.