3D printing of heart muscle cells

Heart cells under the microscope.

The realization of the dream of 3D printing of heart tissues has become one step closer thanks to the development of scientists from the Heart Research Institute (HRI), Sydney, Australia. Sophie Scott

article from abc.net.au translated for you by Top 3D Shop .

Key points:

• Scientists hope that artificial tissue can replace damaged in heart attacks;
• Cells behave like real ones, they beat and move;
• Researchers hope the technology will become available to patients over the next five years.

Scientists use a new bioprinter to print cells that they say can replace damaged cells in a patient’s heart.

“The process will look something like this: when a patient enters the clinic, a tissue sample is taken from him, namely the skin, from which we remove the cells. Based on them, stem cells are first generated, and of them, heart cells,
”says Dr. Carmine Gentile.

Live stem cells are printed on a base that will be “glued” directly to the patient’s heart damaged during the attack.

Cells created by the Heart Research Institute contract together - “beat” like a real heart.


In the picture: heart cells grown from tissue samples of guinea pig.

“They act like a real heart. We were able to make this amazing discovery in our laboratory,
”said Dr. Gentile.

The success of the project can radically change the approach of doctors to treat people with heart attacks. Now patients after a heart attack are treated with angioplasty - to expand blocked or narrowed coronary arteries, a metal mesh balloon inserted into them is used, which prevents the artery from sticking together and allows blood to circulate. Doctors also use reperfusion therapy - they prescribe drugs that destroy clot-blocking arteries. But this treatment is not suitable for all patients, says cardiologist Gemma Figtri of the Colling Institute.


3D printer of the Institute for Heart Research.

“How to replace the scarred muscle or what to use for heart regeneration, we do not know. At present, this is only one of the methods for studying the cardiovascular system, and this is only the first potential solution ,
”she said.

A bioprinter developed in Australia could be a salvation for such patients. Associate Professor Fighty believes that ultimately the heart can be restored.

"By replacing the dead heart muscle with an effective patch, we can reduce heart failure, this will reduce shortness of breath and improve the quality of life for patients."

According to statistics, there are 350,000 people who have survived a heart attack in Australia.
Despite improvements in preventing cardiovascular disease, 24 people are killed in Australia every day in heart attacks.

Artificial organ for drug testing

Experts in the field of cardiology believe that the heart created using 3D printing can be used for individual testing of drugs for compatibility with specific patients from whose cells tissue samples were taken.

Dr. Gentil says that the side effects of drugs can be tested on an artificial organ:
“This is an amazing finding, we can identify side effects that can occur in humans in a very short time . ”

Researchers hope that innovative therapy will be available to patients over the next five years.

What do you think of it? Share your opinion in the comments.