Originally shared by Jérôme Riguidel
3D printing has grown from a niche manufacturing process to a $2.7-billion industry over the past two decades, and now scientists are working to apply 3D printing technology to the field of medicine by printing with living cells.
More sophisticated printers and software, and advances in regenerative medicine have made this possible.
Kevin Shakeshaff, a professor of pharmacy at the University of Nottingham in England, has been working on technology that can “print” a custom body part. An image of a jawbone defect can be fed into a computer and a replacement can be printed to precisely fill the defect using the patient’s own cells, Shakeshaff explains…
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ptc/2013/10/31/the-next-big-thing-in-medicine-3d-printed-bones/