Scientists announce 3D heart-printing breakthrough

WASHINGTON: US scientists have successfully built functional heart parts out of collagen using a 3D bioprinter, a breakthrough they say could one day create entire organs. Their technique, which was described in the journal Science on Thursday, replicates the body’s own complex biological scaffolds that provide the structure and biochemical signaling organs need to function.

“What we were able to show was you can actually 3D print a heart valve out of collagen, and they function,” said Adam Feinberg, one of the paper’s co-authors.

The technique could one day help patients awaiting heart transplants, but it will need to validated through animal testing and eventually human.