Photo credit: Andrew Brodhead
Stanford scientists are currently developing a way to 3D print a human heart and then implant it into a living being such as a pig. This method is called bioprinting and uses living tissue instead of plastic or metal.
These 3D printed hearts are possible due to reactors capable of turning out billions of heart-specific cells at a time, which become the bioprinter’s “ink.” Assistant professor Skylar-Scott estimates that his team will be able to produce sufficient cells for a heart every two weeks.
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We will use these vast numbers of cells to practice, practice, practice and learn all the design rules of the heart and optimize viability and function at the whole-heart scale for eventual implantation into a pig. Your own heart, made out of your own cells; that is the dream,” said Mark Skylar-Scott, a member of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute and principal investigator on the project.
