I sometimes think that, when we look back at the history of technology, the most important developments of the last quarter of the twentieth century won’t be seen to have been in space travel or personal computing or energy efficiency or packaging (although the developments in packaging are truly remarkable) or any of the other amazing elaborations on existing technologies but in laser and inkjet printing. In one development of that technology there’s an Australian company that is applying it to create a “printer” that is capable of producing human organs:
An Australian engineering firm has developed a three-dimensional bio-printer that could be used to fabricate organs for patients who need them.
The result of a collaboration between Melbourne-based Invetech and Organovo, a regenerative medicine company based in San Diego, California, the bio-printer is currently capable of growing blood vessels such as arteries, the companies said.
In five years, “printed†arteries could be used for open heart surgery, the companies said, with complex organs possible within 10 years.
The machine works by placing cells with great precision into a matrix.
One day it might be possible for a descendant of this machine to “print” a pancreas or even a heart.
Need a way to make the individual cells needed for the printing.
Steve
The male enhancement industry is salivating at the possibilities. Look for some very disturbing spam in a few years.
I really hope this works out. It would save countless lives, and really help with life extension if you could replace organs as they wore out.