June 29, 2022, the resource library learned that the biotechnology company United Therapeutics and 3D printing enterprise 3D Systems recently demonstrated what is considered the world's most complex 3D printed object - the human body at the LIFE ITSELF conference in San Diego. Lung stent.
According to reports, these 3D printed human lung scaffold designs are composed of 44 trillion voxels, distributed with 4,000 kilometers of pulmonary capillaries and 200 million alveoli . United Therapeutics scientists plan to cellularize these 3D printed human lung scaffolds with the patient's own stem cells, without the need for immune suppression, to create tolerable, transplantable human lungs that prevent the body's rejects .
“Last week, we demonstrated the excitement of 3D printed human lung scaffolds to the public, and we are also excited to share that 3D printed lung scaffolds are now demonstrating gas exchange in animal models. We regularly print lung scaffolds with the same accuracy as in The U.S. is as accurate as driving and deviates no more than the width of a human hair," said Dr. Rothblatt. "With the continued efforts of scientists and engineers at United Therapeutics and 3D Systems, we hope to have these personally manufactured lungs ready for human trials within five years."
Dr. Rothblatt continued, "Our goal is to create an unlimited supply in the future. Transplantable lungs. Even today, we are using a process called ex vivo lung perfusion to increase the supply of transplantable lungs by extending the evaluation period and viability of human donor lungs by a few hours, to date. More than 230 lives have been extended.”
According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, 2,524 patients had received lung transplants in 2021, and as of June 3, 2022, there were 2,524 patients on the U.S. lung transplant waiting list. 1,075 patients. More than 150,000 Americans die from lung disease each year. According to United Therapeutics, their bioink technology has also printed two developing kidneys and a liver, and the 3D printed human lung scaffold is just the first attempt towards 3D printing organs in the future. According to the resource library, one of the core technologies of this bioprinted organ is a technology that uses tobacco plants to produce collagen . This was achieved by genetically engineering tobacco seedlings to produce five human genes needed to contain collagen. Collagen is the most common protein in mammals and the main component of connective tissue . Using plants to recreate collagen has major implications for the future of bioprinting.
