Tag Archives: blood vessels

3D Bioprinting

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The leading cause of death- still- is cardiovascular disease (CVD).  And, when CVD is severe, the treatment of choice is a heart transplant.  Not surprisingly, these are not always available- so the wait- assuming one gets on the list- can be 6 months, a year, or even longer.  In the US that means that 1/6 of those on the list die before ever moving up to #1 on the list.

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Kidney Transplant Hopes?

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There are some 10000 folks dying- while on the list to receive a kidney transplant- every year.  But, there are still no stem cell produced kidneys.  Which is why some Wake Forest researchers are seeking ways to skirt the political bugaboos regarding stem cells – and still trying to increase the availability of kidneys for those in need.

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Blood Vessels for Dialysis

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A new Japanese medical firm, Cyfuse Biomedical (Tokyo, Japan), is embarking on a most unique application of 3D printing.   The goal of their research effort is to create new blood vessels.  Koji Kuchiishi is the CEO of the firm; his previous endeavors include mobile phone design (at Panasonic), a patent associate, and a stint as a McKinsey consultant.  His firm has significant venture backing (JAFCO, the largest Japanese Venture Capital firm and the University of Tokyo Edge Capital Fund, among others). Cyfuse’s developments are “protected” by patents in the US, China, Singapore, and Japan.

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One small step. One critical step.

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I’ve written about 3D printing for medical applications.  And, we are making progress.  But, the biggest issue precluding their become a reality to produce viable organs is the need to provide blood and nutrients- i.e., perfusion.  That’s why folks have developed scaffolding systems (for information on scaffolding, click here)  to develop the network of blood vessels necessary.   Once that threshold is crossed, organs like the bioartificial kidney would be possible (as described here).   The issue is generally that constructing these hollow channels into blood vessels tend to leak or rupture at the structural seams.

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Smart Bandage?

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When I first heard about this development, I thought they were working on something similar to what Bob Langer, a fellow ChemE grad student from MIT, was working on years ago.   Normally, all bandaging does is to contain a wound, preventing infection from setting in.  That’s why Bob Langer developed his artificial skin to treat burn patients more effectively, because the “new skin” effectively replaced the burned skin and precluded infection in the patient.  This new device was being touted as a “smart bandage”.  But, that’s not really what Dr. H. Kong  (Chemical and Biomolecular engineering, University of Illinois-Urbana), along with Drs. Jeong,  Chan, Cha, Zorlutuna, Dyck, Hsia, and Bashir are developing.

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