The technology of 3D printing is one of the most revolutionary technologies to have emerged in recent decades. 3D printed components, while still stirring up a lot of excitement, have already made their way into everyday products. Bioprinting has the potential to find wide application in medicine and is considered to be the most exciting development in this field.
Printing has found applications in various fields such as sports equipment, medical accessories, implants, prostheses, furniture, car and aircraft parts, even construction. An example of the large-scale capabilities of this technology is a 12-metre pedestrian bridge in
Bioprinting in Medicine
Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting is an innovative manufacturing strategy that enables precise placement of biological substances, including living cells and extracellular matrix components, in a defined 3D hierarchical organization to create artificial multicellular systems, tissues, or organs. 3D bioprinting allows for the creation of biological structures that closely resemble their natural counterparts.
Developing living and functional tissues or whole organs by artificial means offers numerous advantages in the field of tissue and organ transplantation. This is particularly important due to the continuing shortage of donors or lack of tissue compatibility.
Sounds like a futuristic vision by Lem, but it is already happening!
The first 3D printed organ to be transplanted into a human in 1999 was a urinary bladder. This was done by scientists from the
In 2022, the first functional external ear transplant was performed in
Researchers at the
3D printing has already been used to create multi-layered skin, bones, muscle structures, blood vessels, retinal tissue and even mini-organs. Although none of the mentioned products have been approved for human use yet, the pace of the scientific race is breathtaking.
Bionic pancreas from
In the domestic Polish market we also have a significant achievement in the field of 3D bioprinting. In 2019, a scientific and research team from Polbionica, led by Dr Michał Wszoła, M.D., successfully created the world's first fully functional bionic pancreas with a vascular system using 3D bioprinting technology. Our scientists have successfully printed a functional pancreas prototype that maintained a stable blood flow in pigs for a two-week observation period.
Great potential for clinical research
It is worth emphasizing that 3D bioprinting involves more than just printing organs for transplantation. Its potential use in clinical trials and screening new drugs is another significant trend.
In
The
A real treat for investors
The global 3D bioprinting market was valued at
Due to the increasing interest in this technology, many companies are choosing to patent their inventions. This is an appropriate way of securing the innovations related to bioprinting. Applications and patents mainly cover the materials, equipment, and software used in bioprinting, such as bioinks, scaffolds, and bioprinters. While the results of bioprinting, such as bioprinted tissues and organs, may have limited marketability, the bioprints themselves are patentable and should not be excluded from patenting.
A diverse range of innovations
Over 8,000 inventions related to bioprinting have been filed to date, with more than half of them being filed in
These inventions represent a diverse range of innovations, including US Patent 11,559,389 granted to
Equally interesting is patent US 11,559,607, granted to
The future of bioprinting
Most researchers believe that full-scale 3D printed organ transplants in humans are still a distant possibility, perhaps 20 to 30 years away. However, some scientists predict that eventually we will no longer need donor hearts and livers. The more optimistic among them even claim that we could have printed organs inside us in less than 20 years. This suggests a bright future where what used to be science fiction is now becoming a printed reality before our very eyes.
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Urszula Gągała
JWP Patent & Trademark Attorneys
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