Printing in 3-D, uCurrently used in dentistry, for hard-material crowns, caps and bridges, as well as prosthetics, may one day produce human organs, reports [s]Business Day[/s]. The report says San Diego-based [b]Organovo Holdings[/b] is now using 3-D printers to create living tissue that may one day look and act like a human liver, able to cleanse the body of toxins. Drug manufacturers and cosmetic companies already plan to use 3-D printed human tissue to test new products. The report says eventually, the technology may help reduce organ shortages and cut transplant rejections as patients receive new organs constructed from their own cells.
There are dozens of open designs for health aids on the internet – from simple splints to complex prosthetic hands. What they all share in common is they are radically less expensive than the products on the market, reports [s]Live Science[/s]. Printing in 3D, currently offers a solution, too, to the often 'shockingly expensive' scientific equipment prices.
[link url=http://www.bdlive.co.za/world/americas/2014/02/25/3-d-printers-create-living-human-tissue]Full Business Day report[/link]
[link url=http://www.livescience.com/43787-bone-replacements-and-heart-monitors-spur-health-revolution-in-open-source-3d-printing.html]Full Live Science report[/link]