Making Living Human Tissue Samples With A 3D Printer

3D printers are used to make a growing number of solid objects, including airplane parts, toys, prototype models, plastic bikes, dentures and cosmetics 3D printers are also used in medicine to make items such as prosthetic limbs, human tissue specimens, and joints . Recent technological advances promise to extend these medical applications to processes previously thought impossible.

Human Tissue Samples

Image Source: Google

In a process called bioprinting, the company's computer-controlled printers build up a living body tissue layer by layer, much like a standard 3D process. Each specialized printer has two "ink" tanks and two eyedropper printheads. 

One printer container is filled with a milk solution from living cells; the other contains the gel. The print head applies the cell and gel solution simultaneously. The gel helps the cell aggregates maintain their desired shape – a process that usually takes several hours. 

This development is very important for pharmaceutical companies. Early research has shown that 3D printed human tissue reacts to drugs in the same way as living organs in the body. This allows pharmaceutical companies to use 3D printed clothes to rapidly test the effectiveness and toxicity of new drugs at a very low cost to use people who are still alive and without the risk of harmful side effects.

Creating a tiny piece of human tissue with a 3D printer is a big achievement, but the long-term goal of many scientists is to use this printing technique to create entire organs. You can also get more information about human tissue samples online.