A 3D-printed heart has been fabricated using silicone and a patient's own cells. Although the 3D printed heart does not exactly match the function of the real heart. However, the researchers also said that some progress has been made in this field.
A team of Jennifer Lewis from Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) has developed a new set of heart engineering techniques. The technology mimics the complex arrangement of cardiac contractile elements while producing tissue thick enough for regenerative heart therapy.
According to reports, the treatment is an improvement on Wyss' existing SWIFT bioprinting technology. This protocol creates a platform with 1050 individual wells, each with two microcolumns. The researchers used human induced pluripotent stem cells (i.e., young cells capable of developing into many forms) as well as the protein collagen and cells used to form connective tissue to fill these holes. This combination forms a dense tissue aligned along the axis connecting the micropillars. The team then lifted the resulting organ building block from the post, used it to create the bioprinting ink, and used the motion of the 3D printer head to further aid alignment.
The research team said that in the future, with this technology, it may be possible to create highly structured myocardial patches that match the specific parts of the heart attack in different patients.
