3D Systems and United Therapeutics Unveil 3D Printed Lung Scaffold

In a collaboration between United Therapeutics and 3D Systems, researchers have succeeded in developing a complex 3D-printed human lung scaffold. The lung scaffold was unveiled at the LIFE ITSELF conference in San Diego and is considered to be the most complex object ever created using additive manufacturing. The lung scaffolds, which have already been animal tested, are planned to be made in the future with the patient’s own stem cells.

Lately, you’ve probably heard a lot about the various applications of bioprinting. This new form of 3D printing using living cells is becoming increasingly important in medicine. For example, a surgeon in the USA has recently successfully transplanted an ear implant made from human cells. Most famously, it is expected to be able to create fully functional organs for human beings. Though this is not yet possible, steps like this lung scaffold chose the immense advancements which have already happened thanks to 3D printing.

3D printed lung scaffold (photo credits: 3D Systems)

The Structure of the 3D Printed Lung Scaffold

The 3D printed lungs consist of a record 44 trillion individual parts (voxels), which are distributed over 4,000 kilometers (~2500 miles) of lung capillaries and 200 million alveoli. United Therapeutics scientists, therefore, plan to cellularize these 3D printed lung scaffolds with patients’ own stem cells. This method may make it possible to create compatible, transplantable human lungs in the future. By using each patient’s own stem cells, the bioprinted lungs would carry a significantly lower risk of rejection, thus not requiring immunosuppression which can be very dangerous for the patient. The newly developed advanced photopolymer-based bioprinting technology called Print to Perfusion could enable this type of donor organ to be manufactured in as little as three weeks.