The organ is "worn out" and replaced with a new one. This kind of beautiful fantasy in science fiction films is gradually coming to reality. Yesterday, at the first 3D printing and clinical medicine application summit forum, the participating experts stated that China has successfully used biomaterials to “print†livers that mimic human functions and can be used for organ transplantation, and it is expected to enter after 3-5 years. Clinical trial phase. The “mobile phone control†guy walked on the street while brushing WeChat and accidentally wrestled with a broken wrist. Experts used 3D printing technology to print a “simulated hand†that accurately located the wound and instructed surgery. This is the "mainstream" of current 3D printing technology used in the medical field, accurate preoperative diagnosis and intraoperative guidance.
Professor Wang Xiaohong, associate professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Tsinghua University and director of the National Organ Manufacturing Center, introduced that in recent years, 3D printing technology has made breakthrough progress in her laboratory. Take the liver as an example. The liver that was printed in the past has no biological activity. Now experts have researched and produced a brand new liver by mixing natural polymer materials (taking the animal's body) and synthetic polymers (man-made materials). This type of liver has a high degree of "simulation", blood vessels, nervous system and biological activity. It can be used for organ transplantation in the future and solves problems such as insufficient organs and single organs. It is already in the animal experiment stage. For the prospects, she is optimistic: “In 3-5 years, this type of liver is likely to move into clinical trials. At the same time, we are still studying the printing of heart, breast and other organs. Once it is realized, human life can be greatly extended.â€
In this regard, Prof. Zhang Xiaoping of the Department of Urology, Union Hospital is more conservative: “The human body is very complicated and sophisticated. Even if it can be accurately reproduced 1:1 in technology, the organ that is made does not necessarily grow like the human body. It wants to complete the heart. The 'replication' of complex organs such as lungs and lungs requires long-term exploration and trial and error."
Xu Mingen, vice chairman of the China 3D Printing Technology Industry Alliance and director of the Bioengineering Engineering Research Center at Hangzhou Dianzi University, believes that using 3D technology to print complex human organs takes 15 years or more to be realized.
At present, in Beijing, Shanghai, and other cities in China, water-using 3D-printed bones, teeth, and other relatively simple tissues can be tailored to the patient's skeletal characteristics. In the past, it was often necessary to “slip foot and fitâ€, and some hospitals in Wuhan began to sporadically try.
(Editor)