![]() Last month it was reported that a team of scientists from the University of Sydney and the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) at Westmead have leveraged 3D photolithography to produce functional 3D printed human tissues that accurately mimic an organ’s architecture. This project reflects ongoing efforts within the additive manufacturing industry to 3D print functional organs. A healthy heart is important not only for those currently suffering from cardiovascular disease, but also for healthy astronauts exploring space,” added QbD CIO Martijn Reniers. We are already concerned today with the problems society will face tomorrow. “With this project, we are looking beyond the horizon. Through this space-based experiment, the AstroCardia partners hope to investigate whether the exposure of the developed cardiovascular system to the space environment can be applied as a scientific model of heart aging. The 3D printed organ models will then be returned to Earth, where researchers from pharmaceutical manufacturing company QbD and the nuclear research center SCK CEN will analyze them in detail. Once launched to the ISS, the heart-on-a-chip devices will be kept alive for at least six weeks, and will be monitored in real time. This would allow the team to effectively grow a miniature version of a patient’s heart, something which would represent “a great leap forward in personalized medicine” according to Dr Tabury. The innovative technique would make it possible to better investigate cardiovascular diseases and test out some potential medicines,” commented Dr Kevin Tabury, a radiology expert at SCK CEN.ĭr Tabury added that the team can also personalize the 3D printed hearts using a patient’s stem cells. “The miniature heart, which is barely a chia seed’s size, faithfully mimics its human counterpart. At this stage, the scientists can conduct relevant testing, with the main tests set to be conducted onboard the ISS in 2025. ![]() These cells then divide and organize themselves to create a developing human heart model – or ‘organoid.’Īn artificial circulatory system is used to feed the heart with stimuli, oxygen and nutrients until it matures and becomes functional. This ‘bio ink’ includes biomaterials and stem cells that can develop into any possible cell in the human body, the researchers claim. ![]() This includes a 3D bioprinter with micrometric precision, living stem cells and ‘bio ink,’ the latter of which is being supplied by Belgium start-up BIO INX. The AstroCardia team states that specialist material is essential when 3D bioprinting the miniature heart models. Photo via AstroCardia.ĭuring the 3D printing process, heart muscle cells are 3D printed onto a chip measuring a few square millimeters. The platform we will develop will allow research into the mechanisms that drive cardiac aging.”Īccording to Stenuit, this research will be fully automated and can be operated remotely. And that gives us the unique opportunity to obtain research results that we simply cannot obtain here on Earth. “In space, factors such as stress, microgravity and radiation cause those aging processes to occur 20 times faster. It slowly gets bigger and stiffer, the arteries calcify and the pumping power deteriorates,” explained Space Applications Services researcher Hilde Stenuit. Therefore, the team will 3D bioprint a miniaturized human heart and artificial circulatory system to enable more in-depth research into the heart’s aging process.īy sending the 3D printed heart to orbit, it is hoped that scientists will be able to better study this process, given that the organ ages 20 times faster in space than on earth. The ‘heart-on-a-chip’ is being developed by Space Application Services, SCK CEN, QbD Group, BIO INX and Antleron, and will be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2025.Īccording to the AstroCardia researchers, it is practically impossible to conduct in-depth examinations on a living human heart. įive Belgian companies and research centers are collaborating as part of the AstroCardia project to 3D print an artificial heart and circulatory system which will be sent to space. Nominate now for the 3D Printing Industry Awards 2023.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |