3D printed skin grafts and human organs are just the tip-of-the-iceberg!! This showcases a fascinating marriage of biology and technology.
"Now, WFIRM is combining its expertise in culturing cells and using inkjet printers with cell-based inks to use 3D printers to create major organs with multiple tissue types. The 3D printer uses morphometric models based on CT scans. Dr. Atala brought one of WFIRM’s customized 3D printers to a 2011 TED Talk and presented a human kidney that was printed backstage."
"[Researchers] are now developing a vial-based scan-and-print system to apply skin cells to burns that would normally require taking skin grafts from other areas on a patient’s body. In lab experiments, wounds on mice treated with printed skin cells healed in three weeks, versus five weeks for mice not treated with the printed skin."
http://techcrunch.com/2013/05/27/listening-to-the-future-with-a-3d-printed-ear/
