Israeli Researchers Print 3D Heart Using Patient’s Own Cells

April 15, 2019 3D Printing, Medical Research, Medical Technology, Organ Transplants

3D printing human heart in Israel — 15 April 2019, Israel, Tel Aviv: A researcher holds a 3D printed prototype of a human heart in Tel-aviv University. Photo by: Ilia Yefimovich/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

Israeli researchers have printed a 3D heart using a patient’s own cells, something they say could be used to patch diseased hearts — and possibly, full transplants.

The heart the Tel Aviv University team printed in about three hours is too small for humans — about 2.5 centimeters, or the size of a rabbit’s heart. But it’s the first to be printed with all blood vessels, ventricles and chambers, using an ink made from the patient’s own biological materials.

“It’s completely biocompatible and matches the patient,” reducing the chances of rejection inside the body, said Tal Dvir, the professor who directed the project.

Researchers took fatty tissue from a patient, then separated it into cellular and non-cellular components. The cells were then “reprogrammed” to become stem cells, which turned into heart cells. The non-cellular materials were turned into a gel that served as the bio-ink for printing, Dvir explained.

Previously, only simple tissues — without the blood vessels they need to live and function — had been printed, according to a press release from the university. The breakthrough was reported Monday in a paper in Advanced Science.

By Michael Arnold | Bloomberg

Image Credit: AP Photo

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