This article was taken from the January 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
3D printing in healthcare used to mean replicating bones. Now, researchers are moving into bioprinting. This technique uses special gels as a medium for live cells to grow inside, and then turns these into "bioinks" that are placed inside a cartridge.
Printing fully functioning human organs is still a few years off, as researchers try to imitate the complexity of human tissue, with its multiple cellular layers and types, and the networks of vessels spread throughout.
But the samples researchers have crafted so far are already being clinically tested, allowing scientists to measure the effects on humans more reliably. "3D printing moves us toward a more personalised medicine," says Jos Malda, a bioengineer at the Netherlands' Utrecht University. And what could be more personalised than blood vessels, heart valves and skin printed from your own cells?
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
