Medicinal BioPrinting by Alex Avramidis

Unfortunately the Science department did not validate me as a candidate to present my gathered research on Bio Printing. The reason why is because i lacked a Doctorates degree in Medicine. Doctor John H. Wahlert the head of the Biological science department found my work and research rather interesting but it wasn’t up to him to let me present for the Bio Medical Society but the entire society in general. Its a shame but i will return to Baruch in the future when i finally become a doctor. I will Present my work to inspired Bio Med students who are willing to take the same career route in medicine as i am now fulfilling. Only the future holds the answer..

While searching for Bio Engineers and their research on Bio Printing, i was unable to access the current research these Scientists are working on at StanFord since it is confidential material. On the other hand, i did manage to find out that a tiny human liver was printed and it was function-able to an extend of 40 days. Normally Liver cells live up too 200 days since it is the only regenerative organ in the Human body. So to an extend of 200 days the liver cells die and new ones are formed. Unfortunately for this tiny printed liver, the cells were unable to live to their full extend due to unknown factors.  Scientists are still working on perfecting this 3D printed liver which should be released sometime in 2014!  So how did Bio Engineers print this liver? Basically the Scientists at San Diego based medical research company “Organovo” used a 3D Printer that builds up 20 layers of Hepatocytes cells to carry on liver functions, endothelial cells which give the liver architectural support and finally it builds cells to form blood vessels that supply liver cells with oxygen and nutrients. Click the highlighted link on how the liver is made using a 3D Printer! —–>   The BioPrinting Process    <——

BioEngineering is what the human population is depending on in terms of health. What makes Bio Engineers so cool? Well basically they are focused on bettering human health and promoting an environment that is more sustainable. And when i mean a more sustainable environment, I’m talking about getting rid of diseases, a way for everyone to get access to an organ transplant the moment they need one. These health factors give family members extra weight on shoulders knowing one of their family members is ill. Its hard to focus on your everyday life when you know one of loved ones is seriously ill.  For Bio Engineers, these two focuses are two of the greatest challenges they will face in their career because realistically speaking, the human race is depending on them for better health and survival.

After searching for several research facilities i was able to contact Stanford University and ask about their research using Bio Printing technology to print human organs. The Bio Engineers at the university are working on what they call “Regenerative Medicine”. Regenerative medicine involves stem cells to create and specialize different cell tissue and amazingly this could be applied to new technologies such as Bio Printers, using stem cells to create new organs or human tissue. With Regenerative medicine Bio Engineers have the potential to prevent birth defects, repair or even replaced injured tissue, etc. Basically the ultimate goal is to create a Super Human and at this molecular level in Regenerative Medicine we could imagine how the world will be like in just a few years.

If there was one word to describe my Makerspace experience it would be “WOW”. I Basically felt like i was back in Kindergarten playing with all these new toys i have never seen before, except they weren’t just toys. Aside from many innovations laying around the room, i stuck with “Little Bits”. As “Little Bits” catch phrase goes, “Its the easiest way to get started with electronics”, it is what it says. I just thought it would be cool building a contraption that is easy as sticking two magnets together. You add different components consisting of a battery, on and off switch, LED lights, horn, or a rotational engine and bring the contraption to life! It was my first time playing with this toy and I’m sure it won’t be my last. You can put the pieces in different order aside from the battery (which always comes first) and create a circuit of your own desire. I loved it because it was so easy to use and it was fun. In my experience with “Little Bits” i connected the battery to a power switch which connected to a horn which then connected to a rotational engine which by all means I attached one of my classmates origami stork to the device. I pushed the power button, heard the horn go off and watched the stork spin in circles. Although it might not be as fascinating to others, i was quite amazed at what i made. As far as learning anything, imagination is the key. Imagine something you’re able of doing, making, accomplishing and then make it happen. If i had a little more time to play with the other toys in class, it would probably be the Lego set just because i love building things.

On Monday’s class we concentrated on our expertise in relation to 3D Printing. My interest until this day is to apply 3D printing technology to BioPrinting. Some of the ideas my group members had were quite interesting as the main topic for our discussion was BioPrinting Organs in Comparison to traditional organ transplants. As a Pre-Medicine major i was quite aware of this technology and how many lives could be saved by 3D printed Organs. The fact that a printer is able to use organic protein/silica based inks to print a heart cell by cell will open a whole new page in the world of medicine, it is the future of Bio Engineering. Check out this link on Organ Printing, you will find it quite fascinating!

Organ Printing

For the next 6 weeks, I decided to apply 3D Printing technology for future BioPrinting research in my Medical career.

Week 1 (November 10-16): applied research from Professionals working on 3D printing organs.

Week 2 (November 17-23): At this point i should have found a few steady Bio engineers that are progressing with their research on Organ Printing.

Week 3 (November 24-30): I will present my gathered research and promote the work of these Bio engineers in my Biomed club to Science department.

Week 4 (December 1-7): I will keep track of research companies if they are working on any new bioprinted organs.

Week 5 (December 8-14): When i have found a Bio engineers, i hope to get a tour of the actual Bio printing facility.

Sixth week (Dec15-21): Get an internship with a bio Printing research facility as a lab technician.

The World is evolving and technology is becoming more advanced as ever before. But there is one problem and it’s killing thousands Globally each day. People are striving to live just one more day either because they suffer from a life threatening illness or because they are in need of an organ to survive. Illnesses will always be around until the end of mankind but it is part of nature, people get old, get sick, and pass away. It is the cycle of life and it goes for every living organism on this planet, that is unless you’re a humanoid robot or had a drink from the fountain of youth.

We live in world where pollution has become an issue. Factories around the world produce toxic gases, yet even worse, the amount of toxic fumes being released by auto vehicles around world is killing thousands. Its the toxins we breathe in, poison the blood and organs, that through out time leads to life threatening diseases. United States is one the very few countries that requires a catalytic converter to be installed in every auto vehicle, which in fact reduces the toxic gases being released into our atmosphere.

 We’re not the only ones breathing in theses harmful toxins. In fact, every living organism on this planet does and breathing in these toxins can increase the risk of serious health problems. Its not like we can tell everyone on this planet to stop driving or to close down their factories but there are other alternatives for a solution to this problem. Life expectancy around world varies depending where you live, what you eat, and whether you exercise or not. With the help of BioPrinting we can might as well add another 10 years to ones longevity or maybe even more? Speaking of the Fountain of youth.

With Regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, scientists are researching a way to not only prevent illnesses but to replace vital organs in patients who are in need for them.  Although research is very expensive in the USA alone, “$200 million is given each year to research institutions in public funding”. BioPrinting organs will save millions of lives along the road using polymer based “materials” for manufacturing synthetic printable organs such as the heart,liver, skin, bladder, etc. If you are in serious need of an organ transplant, there will be no more depending on a donor, it will just be printed for you. According to OrganDonor.gov, there are around 118,000 patients awaiting an organ transplant of some kind and as many as 18 people die daily waiting for that organ.

BioPrinting will be a global phenomena saving peoples lives across the world. Because everyone deserves an extra day of life on this planet.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question66.htm

http://www.who.int/gho/mortality_burden_disease/life_tables/situation_trends/en/

http://www.who.int/topics/chronic_diseases/en/

http://churchandstate.org.uk/2012/02/investing-in-the-fountain-of-youth/

http://www.medicalplasticsnews.com/equipment_and_services/regerative-medicine-and-3d-bioprinting%3A-polymers-sow-the-seed-of-life/

Over the span of time taking this course, my vision of what the future would be like has grown exponentially with ideas. Ive taken notice that 3D-Printing is the future of production in all sorts of ways, yet it is primitive in terms of development. We can now print using various polymers, including ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene), PLA (polylactic acid), HDPE (high density polyethylene), etc. But these are just “plastic” based materials. Imagined a defined world where 3D printers are able to print organs for those who are in need for them or maybe even print medicine in your own home rather than paying ridiculous prices for those cant afford to pay for it. It would change the world of medicine at a whole new level.

I can say 3D printing at this point in time, using polymer based “Inks” is a great advantage for those who are Artists. A simple process using Sketch Up and with just a few clicks on your computer, one can create a 3D design. Once the design is transformed into an “stl” file, it can be printed into a beautiful work of art for those who are artists and want to make 3D art work. Although some challenges can be faced with those who are new to using the program Sketch Up, being precise in the design of your work is the key. In comparison to an Architect who is designing a blue print for a model, the architect has to be precise with the dimensions of the model that architect is drawing. My Strength is curiosity in terms of thinking exponentially and the different alternatives of using technology such as the 3D printer.

As a person who is interested in Biological sciences, i see a world of redefined medicine for the better. In the near future with the help of Bio-printing, vital organs will be printed, illnesses will be cured, and peoples lives will be saved at higher statistics than which they are now.

Using multiple model blocks such as the blue cylinder block in the image below I have constructed a colonial type house in a style similar to the White House in Washington D.C. As I began constructing the front entrance of the house, i made sure the blocks were all in their right position.

There were some difficult situations i ran into, for example, the blocks not all being their actual size. By this i mean some blocks were not correctly measured, therefore the house was completely unbalanced. Imagine putting a puzzle together and the puzzle pieces do not correspond to one another. Still not getting it? Try thinking about building an actual house using bricks, except the bricks are not the same size. It would be impossible to build the house. Although in sketch up everything is possible.

One thing i managed to realize is the necessity  of maneuvering around the plane when constructing the model. From one angle, all the placed blocks look like they are in position but when looking in a different angle they could all be scattered around. I thought the idea of constructing such a structure  because it was cool. It would be like building a house without all the toil and man work. It wasn’t easy work building this model, in fact, it actually required time and preciseness when placing the blocks together. Maybe not as hard as building an actual house but close enough. As a word of advice, you definitely have to change the angle of the screen when placing the blocks together, to make sure all the blocks are in their correct positions. As i stated earlier, everything will look like its in place but from a different angle you would see scattered blocks floating everywhere. Just Imagine gravity played a role in a situation like this. It would be raining blocks.