42 INNOVATION & TECH TODAY|SUMMER 2019
HealthTech
Presented by
difficultyingestingit.In2015,theFDA
approvedanepilepsydrugcalledSpritamthat
addressesthisproblem;it’s3D-printed with a
porousstructuretoallowforrapid
disintegrationandeasieringestion.UK-based
FabRxisresearchinghowthesizeandshapeof
3D-printedpillsaffecthowquicklytheydissolve
andareabsorbedinthebody.Theyfoundthat
byincreasingthesurfacearea,thedrugis
releasedmorerapidly.Thatcouldbegreatnews,
especiallyforchildrenwhomightfindit easier
totakea rapidlydissolving pill in a fun shape
insteadofa capsule.
Lastyear,DanielKraft,a physicianand
inventor,gavea TEDtalkwherehepresented
theideaofa “PolyPill”thatintegratesmultiple
medicationsintoa singlecapsule.ThePolyPill
wouldbe3Dprintedautomaticallyina patient’s
homewithcustom-tailoreddosesofmedication
basedonhisorhermedicalneeds.Additionally,
thedoseineachPolyPillcouldadapttodata
receivedfromsmartwatchesorothermedical
gadgets;anovernightincreaseinbloodpressure,
forexample,couldtriggera higherdoseofblood
pressuremedicationtobeprintedonto the
PolyPillthefollowingmorning.
Personalized,3D-printeddrugslikethe
PolyPillcouldpotentiallyincreaseits
effectiveness by helping patients stay complianttotheirtreatmentplan,aswellasreducethe
likelihoodofnastysideeffectsthatoftencome
witha one-size-fits-alldosingapproach.BodyPartsOn-Demand
Ofalltheamazingusesfor3Dprinting,the
abilitytoprinta fully-functionalreplacement
bodypartmightseemthemostfantastical.Yet,
thistechnology,knownasbio-printing,is actually
oneoftheoldestapplicationsof3Dprintingin
medicine.In1999,Dr.AnthonyAtalaofWake
ForestUniversitysuccessfullyuseda modified
inkjetprintertocreatetheworld’sfirstengineered
organ– a humanbladder.Sincethen,histeam
andnumerousotherresearchersaroundthe
worldhaveprintedtissuesand organs from nearly
everypartofthebody.
It’llstilllikelybemanyyears,however,before
entire3D-printedorganswillbeimplanted in
patients.Notonlydotheyneedtobe
structurallysimilartotheirnativecounterparts,
butbio-printedorgansneedtoperformallthe
complexfunctionsofrealorgans,aswellaslive
inharmonywiththerestofthebodyonce
they’reimplanted.Thesecomplexities,aswell
asthehighcostsandtimeit takestocreatean
organ,willneedtoberesolvedbeforethe
replacementorganscanbecomeviable.
But while we haven’t implanted a completelybio-printedorganintoa humanyet,researchhas
steadilyprogressedtowardtheuseofsmaller
andlesscomplexbio-printedtissues.Functional
ears,heartvalves,andbloodvesselsarejust
someofthesimplerpartsthatresearchershave
successfullyprintedoverthepastfewyears.
Severalgroupshaveevendevelopeda special
bio-printerthatcanprint new skin cells directly
ontopofwounds.
Bio-printedtissuesarealreadyplayingan
importantroleindrugdevelopmentand
education.Since2014,SanDiego-based
Organovohasoffereda lineof3D-printedliver
andkidneytissuethatcanbeusedtotestthe
toxicityofdrugcandidates.Andin2017,
Shanghai-basedJALAGroup,a cosmetic
company,successfullybio-printedbiologically
accurateskintotesttheirproducts.Themajor
benefitofthesebioprintsisthatproductscan
betestedonhuman-based tissues without
harminganimals.
Bothoutsideandinsideourbodies,3D
printinghasthepotentialtoradicallydisrupt
medicaltechnology.Whilemanyofits
applicationshavea longwaytogobeforethey
becomemainstream,we’realreadystartingto
seesomeofthewaysit’smakinghealthcare
moreaccessible, affordable, and personalized for
patients.■How 3D Printing is Transforming Healthcare One Layer at a Time
(TopRight)PhysicianDanielKraft presenting his 3D-printed PolyPills (bottom left). 3D-printing can also develop organic materials such as liver tissue (top left) and an actual
heart valve (bottom right).