Breakthrough Technology Enables 3D Printing Of Transplant Organs: The Vista 3D Nozzle -
Did you ever think that during your lifetime you would witness an organ transplant that was made by a 3D printer? That if you desperately needed a liver or a kidney transplant, you would not have to be at the top of a national list of recipients, and then be lucky enough to find a compatible donor? That time is coming very soon if the British TTP Group has anything to say about it. It's got the patents on the new Vista 3D Nozzle.
TTP Group's Vista 3D Nozzle: image via ttpgroup.com
Oh, the Vista 3D can print toys, aircraft parts, even diagnostic test strips, but with its ability to print biological cells, it will change the face of medicine as we know it... dramatically. TTP says the Vista 3D will change the face of manufacturing altogether. This is exciting stuff!
Until now, 3D printing had the ability to print single material types like acrylic-based resins, waxes, plaster, and metal powders, all of which could only be run as a single material. But the Vista 3D can print almost any material, organic or inorganic, including ceramics, biological cells, enzymes, metals, plastics, and many other chemical materials.
TTP's innovation results from a breakthrough discovery in droplet ejection, which enables the Vista 3D to handle large (above 50 mm) particles, even particles that are viscous and volatile. This is due to Vista 3D's open printhead artchitecture and nozzle motion that enable printing of more variable fluids with even greater reliability than was previously possible for inkjet technology.
In an interview with the Cambridge News, Sam Hyde, managing director of TTP, said that the new technology might be ready to produce organ transplants in as little as 5 to 10 years, but that prior to that, the Vista 3D will be able to produce more simple structures, like customized orthopedic and surgical implants, tailor-made from MRI scans.
That's the good news. The bad news is that the Vista 3D Nozzle is currently fitted to 2D printers and it might take up to two years to upgrade the technology for 3D printers.
TTP (The Technology Partnership, plc) is one of Europe's leading technology companies, having introduced 'disruptive technologies' in diverse fields, including communication, digital printing, consumer and industrial products, biotechnology, medical devices, and security systems.
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