Feb 10, 2017 | By Benedict
A team of researchers in Korea has used a 3D bioprinter to make a myocardial therapeutic patch for treating ischemic heart disease. When attached to the heart, the 3D printed patch can generate new blood vessels and tissues.
Professor Park Hoon-joon of the Seoul St. Mary's Hospital and professor Jo Dong-woo of the Pohang University of Science & Technology, two of the lead researchers on the exciting bioprinting study, announced the results of their research on February 9, claiming that their 3D printed myocardial patch could radically change the way doctors approach the treatment of ischemia, a condition that results in low blood supply to the heart muscles or other organs.
To create the 3D printed heart patch, the researchers used cardiac extracellular matrices as a 3D printable bioink, with cardiac stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells configured in a double-cell arrangement. A vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a signal protein that stimulates vasculogenesis and angiogenesis, was also introduced. The researchers say that this complex arrangement could hold the key to recovery from ischemic heart disease—at present, the five-year survival rate for patients is less than 50 percent.
The Korean researchers tested out their 3D printed heart patch by transplanting it into the heart-diseased epicardium (the part of the heart liable to cause heart attacks) of a number of lab animals. Once fully implanted, the 3D bioprinted patch was able to reduce the hardness of certain fibrotic areas affected by a lack of blood supply. The patch also increased the number of capillary blood vessels, with some of the new stem cells differentiating into myocardial cells.
Although the research is still in its early stages, the researchers believe that the successful animal testing is proof that the 3D printed myocardial patch offers some hope of a new form of heart disease treatment. By 3D printing the stem cells into precise arrangements, medical professionals would be able to fabricate patches tailored to an individual patient’s heart.
“The human heart has been regarded as an organ that cannot be restored once damaged, but the patch opens up the possibility of regenerative therapy for recovery from heart attacks,” the researchers explained. “Using the patch, we will work on a next-generation stem cell therapy platform, making use of tissue engineering techniques such as 3D cell printing and the preparation of stem cell lines that can be clinically applied.”
The results of the 3D bioprinting study have been published in the journal Biomaterials.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
Maybe you also like:
- T-Bone Cape motion control board launches on Indiegogo
- New extruder could lower costs of 3D printing cellular structures for drug testing
- New Ninja Printer Plate for consumer 3D printing
- mUVe3D releases improved Marlin firmware for all 3D printers
- Zecotek plans HD 3D display for 3D printers
- Add a smart LCD controller to your Robo3D printer
- Maker Kase: a handy cabinet for 3D printers
- Heated bed for ABS printing with the Printrbot Simple XL
- Next gen all metal 3D printer extruder from Micron
- Pico all-metal hotend 100% funded in 48 hours, B3 announces Stretch Goal
- Create it REAL announces first 3D printing Real Time Processor
- A larger and more powerful 3D printer extruder on Kickstarter