Eliseo Delgado Jr. covers trending tech topics and often helps his readers understand complex subjects in the industry in addition to helping them make more informed purchases on high-tech consumer products. Here, he discusses how 3D-printing technology will likely revolutionize the medical industry.
Recently, 3D-printing has found a tremendous following with engineers, crafters, and makers the world over. People like Eliseo Delgado Jr. who have developing interests can more easily find the machinery and software, especially at universities, local workshops, and even at a few major retailers.
“The scope of the technology is only limited to the imagination of the creator,” says Eliseo Delgado Jr. “These printers are allowing people to make everything from replica props and costume accessories to useable machinery and models. And they’ve never been more accessible to the public.”
He notes that the medical industry and the tech industry are advancing rapidly together with the former utilizing artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and 3D-printing to enhance healthcare overall. With 3D printers, medical facilities are beginning to address health concerns and provide revolutionary solutions where they were very limited before.
Specialists have predicted that the medical industry will be reliant on 3D-printing in the future, which will be used to help people live longer than ever before. Today, the technology is being tested in labs and facilities around the world so that one day it can be used to print fully-transplantable organs for life-saving situations.
Right now, millions of people are signed up as organ donors but only a small percentage are actually able to donate their organs in the event of their passing. As a result, it’s very difficult to receive an organ transplant during emergency situations. In the future, doctors will likely be able to print up an organ as simply as printing out a set of documents using local technology.
“Waiting for a spot on organ donor lists may soon be a thing of the past as 3D printers will be able to print vital organs that won’t be rejected by the body,” says Eliseo Delgado Jr. “Recent advancements from institutions like Newcastle University and facilities like MBC Biolabs lead the way for its growth and implementation.”
MBC Biolabs is responsible for solving one of the biggest obstacles holding the technology back from printing fully-transplantable organs and tissue: the team behind the project at MBC have discovered how to recreate 3D-printed capillaries, which are extremely thin blood vessels used by the body to transport oxygen and nutrients to tissues. Capillaries are fundamental components of all organs and a necessary ingredient in successful implants.
“We’re already pushing past the scifi-like obstacles holding 3D-printing from being implemented into medical facilities everywhere,” says Eliseo Delgado Jr. “In the future, the technology may even help people to live as long as 150 years or more!”
