3D-PrintingIn regenerative medicine
Part 1: In regenerative medicine, 3D-Printing is seen as the long-awaited savior to solve the considerable shortage in cell transplant requests. Most individuals die due to a lack of matching cell donors, and data shows that almost 90% of cell transplant cases require kidneys from viable donors (Atala, 2011). What an ingenious way it is if doctors can use a patient’s molecular cell to replicate a wholesome functional cell? Though there are challenges, regenerative medicine engineers hope that at one time, it will be possible to regenerate human organs from desktop printing.
In the video, “Printing a Human Kidney,” Anthony Atala talks to a TED-Talk audience illustrating the fantastic inventions and capabilities of 3D printing and cell regeneration. Atala is concerned about the impending health crisis due to organ failures and the increasing demand for organ transplants. Yet, the number of patient-donor ratios remains the same if not declining (Atala, 2011). The presenter is of the suggestion that the healthcare industry should focus more on 3D printing to overcome limitations in cloning or cell regeneration. 3D printing has the potential to increase patients’ life span by providing them with new cells to support body functions.
From the example given by Atala, Luke could have been on dialysis for the whole of his life. However, the remarkable technology of 3D printing salvaged his situation, and now his kidneys are well functional and able to function independently of artificial support. IB-PROCADD d.o.o. (2011) video replicates the same ingenuity about ZCorp’s 3D Printer. The clip shows a 3D printing machine replicating a real wrench. The printed tool is functional to some degree, and this points out the advantage of 3D printing. Workers, scientists more so, can now replace expensive equipment more promptly and at lesser costs.
On the downside, 3D printing is costly to set up. The knowledge of this modern medicinal genius is also not readily transferable to most regions of the world due to technological disparity and inefficient infrastructure to set up laboratories for such works. Cost constraints aside, 3D printing still has some ethical deliberations (Kim et al., 2020). Religious enthusiasts classify 3D printing alongside cloning. They hold to the idea that 3D printing is unethical and morally wrong. What is the material component for the printed cell organs?
Another disadvantage is the time and functional dimension of the 3D printed cells (Diment, Thompson & Bergmann, 2017). It is time-consuming to scan and create cells from printing machines. A case might arise where doctors have to engineer emergency organ intervention, yet it takes approximately seven hours to generate an organ from the 3D printing machine (Atala, 2011). Scientists are also yet to determine the degree of functionalism when the organs printed from the 3D printing technology are input in humans. Durability and effective functioning of the cells is also yet to be determined when the organs are eventually transplanted (Gardin et al., 2020). There is hope, however, that the present generation of scientists will solve the healthcare organ crises, and that humans at one time will live indefinitely.
Part 2: Aimar, Palermo, and Innocent (2019) present remarkable insight into the application of 3D printing technology in the medical profession. In their journal article, “The Role of 3D Printing in Medical Applications: A State of the Art,” the three authors present various instances where 3D printing has come out successful in providing patients with life-changing intervention to the betterment of the patient’s lives. It is prudent for the module’s professor and students, in particular, to seek this article and inform themselves about the use of 3D printing in medicinal practices. Moreover, reading through the report, one gets to know the merits and demerits of 3D printing.