Bio inkjet printing - imagine the possibilities

This video if from the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine in America and below is what they have said about the technology.


"Printing organs and tissues may sound like science fiction. But, our laboratory is using modified ink-jet technology to do just that. We have utilized inkjet printing technology to build heart, bone, and blood vessel tissues.

Living tissues are composed of multiple cell types arranged in a very specific order in three-dimensional space. Maintaining this structure is important to ensure that engineered tissue and organs have normal function.

Inkjet printing technology offers a possible solution to this complex problem because it allows us to precisely arrange multiple cell types and other tissue components into pre-determined sites with high precision. Multiple cells types are placed in the wells of a sterilized ink cartridge and the printer is programmed to arrange these cells in a specific order.

For military applications, we will develop an adapted ink-jet printer to provide on-site "printing" of skin for soldiers with life-threatening burns. Skin cells will be placed in the print cartridge, along with a material to support them, and will be printed directly on the wound."

http://www.wfubmc.edu/Research/WFIRM/Bioprinting.htm