From these papers it is clear that organ printing is a viable option for bioengineering. It also is making leaps and bounds in its improvements: in three years it went from being a CAD (computer aided design) to being an actual printer that will print 3D layers of tissue and within those layers over 99.9% stay viable, attached, and aligned. The revolutionary reverse-thermal gel allows the printer to only worry about where it places cells, not where a scaffold is. This allows the possibility of any design to be made easily without worry of first figuring out the scaffold design!
A note of caution though: an clump of cells that look like an organ does not an organ make. As seen through Jockenhovel's paper, simply bioengineering layers of tissues does not mean that it will be a strong and long-lasting option. After the organ is printed it must be put through some conditioning in order to build the muscle, and allow proper cell cooperation. In any organ, especially a heart, this is imperative to functioning.
The power of organ printing lies in its speed, accuracy, and its ability to take any cell, be it a ovary cell, an iPS cell, or ECM; and make a personalized organ. Soon this technology will allow every one of us, with proper insurance, to give a doctor our own cells and get back a fully functional liver, kidney, heart, lung, or skin. This has the power to be one of the most revolutionary inventions since the printing press!
Bringing It All Together
