3D Bioprinting by

References

bjohns3 — 2024-09-19 18:36:32 UTC

Wang, X., Zhang, D., Yogendra Pratap Singh, Yeo, M., Deng, G., Lai, J., Chen, F., Ozbolat, I. T., & Yu, Y. (2024). Progress in Organ Bioprinting for Regenerative Medicine—Article. Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eng.2024.04.023
Who we are. Organovo, Inc. (2024). https://organovo.com/about/who-we-are/

What is Bioprinting?

bjohns3 — 2024-09-19 19:20:01 UTC

3D bioprinting uses technology to create living tissue, and someday, organs.

There are several different types of 3D bioprinting, each providing their unique abilities to create living tissue for drug testing, organ repair and full organs.

The three major types of bioprinting include Thermal Inkjet, Extrusion Based, and Vat photopolymerization. Natural and Synthetic polymers are the primary ink substrate consisting of polysaccharides, protein, or polyethylene glycol, polyurethane. Pre-differentiated cells are also part of the matrix (ink) and are chosen based on desired tissue type; this could include cardiac myocytes, fibroblasts, endothelial cells and immune cells (Wang et al., 2024).

Organovo currently uses this technology to create 3D tissue models of human bowel to "understand, invent, and develop the best drug therapies for irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerative colitis." Using bioprinted human tissue models, they can evaluate drug response and effectiveness. This technology improves testing and overall outcomes for human treatment versus animal testing. They have recently started phase 2 trials on their newest drug using 3D bioprinting technology (Organovo, 2024).

bjohns3 — 2024-09-19 19:30:23 UTC

Pros

bjohns3 — 2024-09-19 19:54:11 UTC

Bioprinted tissue can be specific to each patient
Off-the shelf organs instead of waiting for organ donor match
Negate the use of anti-rejection medications
Improve drug efficacy
Increase life expectancy

Cons

bjohns3 — 2024-09-19 19:59:48 UTC

Regulatory requirements may delay process
Patient disease may prevent viable cells for Bioink matrix
High startup cost

Tissue modeling for drug therapy

bjohns3 — 2024-09-19 21:26:51 UTC

Opinion and Rationale

bjohns3 — 2024-09-19 23:25:05 UTC

The idea that we could have easy access to personalized organs for transplants, without a donor, is pretty amazing. Although we are not quite ready for whole organ printing, this technology has already begun to enhance care and improve patient outcomes.

We can now better understand the body's response to drug therapy and make them more efficacious. This could minimize damage to other organs and decrease the need for lifelong treatments. It could also bring us closer to a cure for cancer by testing treatments on printed tumor cells. My hope is that we can continue to develop this technology in a way that improves healthcare without a major price tag.

Using Strengths

bjohns3 — 2024-09-20 17:09:38 UTC

I chose the following team members: Fernando (Focus) because he is good at staying on track and setting goals; Daisy (Developer) because she can be a good helper and coach the team when needed; Pablo (Positivity) for his ability to be an optimistic and enthusiastic team member; Rachel (Restorative) for her ability to troubleshoot problems; and Sheila (Strategic) because she can plan for the unexpected and make good judgement calls.

Along with my strengths (Relator, Arranger, Responsibility, Learner, Self-Assurance), I believe each team member brings a different skill set that can motivate, stay focused and work well together to achieve the goals we have set.