Medical 3D printing among topics explored at NY conference
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028797
Nature : Three-dimensional printing technology is increasingly being used by medical professionals for creating replacement body parts. Titanium hip joints, plastic tracheal splints, and prosthetic hands have already been printed and successfully implanted in human patients. Now researchers are working to 3D-print entire organs by using cells as ink. The latest developments in medical bioprinting are among the topics being discussed this week at the third annual Inside 3D Printing conference in New York. One of the items on the agenda is a prototype ear that combines a hydrogel frame and nanoelectronics with biological tissue. Because internal organs, such as livers and kidneys, are so complex, however, efforts to reproduce them are still in the early stages, and some people in the field doubt that they can ever be achieved.
