Essay On 3D Printing In Pharmaceuticals

As 3D printing transitions from commercial manufacturing use to personal private use individuals will have the ability to print any design. Products can range from a pair of shoes to complicated engineering designs, life-saving devices, prosthetic limbs and weapons that pass airport security. In the future we will likely see printable medications and

The field of bioprinting, using 3D printing technology for producing live cells with extreme accuracy, could be the answer to many of the problems we as humans face in the medical field. It could be the end to organ waiting lists and an alternative for organ transplants. In 3D printing technology lies the potential to replace the testing of new drugs on animals. However, the idea of applying 3 dimensional printing to the health industry is still quite new and yet to have a major impact. Manufacturing working 3D organs remains an enormous challenge, but in theory could solve major issues present today.

In a study conducted through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on “average 79 people will receive an organ each day; however, an average of 22 people die each day” waiting for transplants that cannot take place because of the shortage of donated organs (U.S. D.H.H.S). The average amount of patients waiting for an organ can reduce to zero with the continued development of 3-D printers. 3-D printing is a process of making three dimensional solid objects from a digital file. The digital file is uploaded onto a computer software, and then the 3-D printer prints the digital file out onto different materials. The materials include plastic, resin, nylon, sandstone. The finish products become replicas of the digital file, and what was an idea is now a reality. Therefore, 3-D printers will one day be the future of organ transplants because over the past twenty years the technology industry has rapidly grown into the focal point in society. From advancement in communication, to the medical field, science and technology has shaped this world today. Thus, the American Government should invest more money into the medical field budget because the research conducted on new technology (3-D Printers) leads to more lives saved, and expands the opportunity of future medical breakthroughs.

Bioprinting offers the ability to create a 3D biomimetic tissue by patterning cells and, in some approaches, multiple cell types with precise and reproducible spatial control. In order to create these organs a researcher must start off with a bioink consisting of compounds with a chemical structure consisting of polysaccharides and/or proteins. Some of the compounds include, but are not limited to agar, collagen, silk, elastin, and chitosan. These bioinks are then infused with additives that include growth factors, cytokines, and extracellular matrix (Bioprinting 4-12). Bioprinting then “moves from the laboratory to the clinic sources, clinical grade cells will be necessary to support the assembly of different constructs” This is where stem cells from the patient, if possible, are utilized to prevent the use of immunosuppressive drugs. (Bioprinting 4-12). Once everything is loaded into the biopen, it is then loaded into the bioprinter (fig 1, 2). Researchers are then able to make tissues, organs, and many other structural components.

Elizabeth Gough-Gordon, in the article 3D Printing and Medicine: Not Just Science Fiction Anymore, explains that 3D printing in the medical field is “not new technology”, but recent innovations are not only revolutionizing surgical procedures and prosthetics, but also the future of prescription distribution. In her article, Gough-Gordon inputs statistics, dates, speeches, and individual stories of patients who received 3D printed prosthetics in her article in order to assert the changes 3D printing has undergone since the 1980’s and how it is helping people today in 2015. For example, Gough-Gordon explains how 3D printing was first invented in the early 1980’s, despite the futuristic appeal the it has now, and how it has become a less expensive

New Medical Research shows that 3-D printing can be used to reproduce human cells by bio-printing blood vessels and human tissue. Medical Research has shown that 3-D printing of the tissue can be a new invasive treatment for individuals that need rapid acting, life-saving treatment and the most cost effective option. There are a variety of different types of 3-D printers. However, with each 3-D printer they each produce their own unique and distinct objects. The usage of each 3-D printer differs from one another. In the terms of bio-printing its provides many benefits such as providing the production of medication, or a tissue. Furthermore 3-D printing can be also used for educational purposes, such as adding 3-D printing to the curriculum

Anthony Atala, in his 2011 Ted Talk, Printing a Human Kidney, tells of printing a bladder. He explains that they use a small piece of the patients original bladder. They then print a scaffold and let the cells grow on the scaffolding in an “oven like device” that has the “same conditions as the human body -- 37 degrees centigrade, 95 percent oxygen” Weeks later, the organ has grown and it is ready to be placed in the patient. Atala explains that “For these specific patients, we actually just suture these materials. We use three-dimensional imagining analysis, but we actually created these biomaterials by hand.”Luke Massella, a patient who received a 3D printed organ because he was born with spina bifida that prevented his bladder and kidneys

One of the newer technologies being developed by biomedical engineers is a 3D bioprinting. A 3D printer is a computer run machine, which has the ability to print out objects layer by

As mentioned earlier, 3D printing can be more than just fun and games. 3D printing can be used to make organs and living tissues as well. This is obviously a complex process, but it can be done. This would allow more people to be able to receive transplants. This idea of printing organs and tissues has been discussed for quite a while now.

Have you ever lost a limb? Have you ever needed a new car part? If so, the marvel of 3D printing can deliver these things. The future has truly arrived today, almost any object we can think of can become reality through 3D printing. 3D printing is the process of making a physical object from a digital model by layering a material until it forms the object. 3D printing shows a lot of potential for both recreational and practical uses, and I believe will help shape the future of technology.

In the article “Queensland scientists sign deal to create 3D printed artificial mini skidneys”. (n.d), Professor Melissa Little explains how Scientist at the University of Queensland have an agreement with a US company to 3D print artificial kidneys. They are using human cells mixed polymer as the ink to build 3 dimensional shapes. These artificial kidneys are used for testing drugs for toxicity. By testing drugs using 3d printed tissue, it will save money and time.

The 3D printing has certainly taken technology to a storm providing major solution in various industries and a step ahead in man-made new age technology. Be ready to enter into a world of 3D print technology that can be a huge leap over the human innovation and would make life

Why go to stores and spend lots of money buying toys, jewelry, cups and many other plastic utilities when you can only press one button and print them out for yourself. This futuristic idea is not only innovating the scientific and technological world, but it is also innovating modern day households. The possibilities of 3D printing are extremely captivating, making this one of the most exciting innovations in recent times. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, makes three-dimensional solid objects from a digital model or command. To picture how this process works, 3D printers use an additive process, where adding layers of a successive material creates an object. Traditional machines, however, uses a subtractive process by

All the techniques contain advantages and disadvantages, but a problem that needs solving before used clinically, is advancing the printer technology. A 3D-printed organ must contain the ability to perform all the functions of a real organ as

We live in a time where technology is improved and advanced every single day. The health care environment is no exception. The technology used for health care is constantly being refined and advanced in hopes to allow even better and more efficient care. One of these technological advancements that could revolutionize health care is 3D printing. Benefits 3D printing could provide include construction of prosthetic limbs as well as anatomical models aimed at determining patients’ needs and many more (Ventola, 2014). However, there are also disadvantages of this technology and one of the main disadvantages is the security issues it presents. There are both advantages and disadvantages of 3D printing but there is no denying the promise of this technology and the potential impact it could have.