3-D Printing Supports Kidney Transplant in a Toddler
News stories about 3-D printing of a functional organ such as a kidney or liver have to be carefully read, as they can be misleading. Three years ago, researchers at Huazhong University in China reported that they had 3-D printed a kidney, but in fact, it was a fine model of a kidney, yet not fine enough to function. Still, a fine model can be a useful thing, as it was recently for transplant surgeons at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital who modeled a father’s kidney, based on CT and MRI images, for donation to his 3 year old daughter. The operation—placing an adult sized organ in a child—succeeded because of the information the model provided. We will keep watch, however, for a 3-D printer that can replicate the extremely fine and complex structures of a natural organ. MORE
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