WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers from the United States have successfully designed a miniature heart model, two regularly aspirated ventricles and two valves, using a three-dimensional printer, confirming that they can be used to print body parts.

"We have shown that we can print parts of the heart based on cells and collagen, and that these parts are actually capable of functioning, such as a heart valve or ventricle," said Adam Feinberg, a senior researcher at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

"We have been able to come up with accurate anatomical structures for each individual patient," Feinberg said, noting that the method was not yet ready for practical application.

"Collagen is a vital material in 3D printing because any tissue in our body is literally made up of this material," said Andrew Hodson, co-author of the study. "But the problem is that this substance is liquid at first, To be a sticky spot when printing, so we developed a technique to prevent deformation. "
In this method, researchers called the abbreviation "Fresh" using a printer to load the collagen layer over a layer in a bath of liquid liquid that supports the initial formation. After the printing process, the liquid liquid, gel, is heated to 37 ° C, Body temperature, so that the final structure remains, according to the researchers in their study, who published their findings in the current issue of Science magazine.

In another experiment, the researchers made models of the left ventricle of the heart, adding to these models cells of the heart muscle, developed from human fetal stem cells and fibroblasts. "Four days later the heart's abdomen was clearly merged with each other and became synchronized after seven days "The researchers said.

The researchers also printed a heart valve with a diameter of 28 millimeters.

"We still have many years of research, but it is interesting that we have made real progress in making human tissue and converting it into organs," Feinberg said.