Organs and tissues printing
Biomaterials have already been used quite successfully for 3D printing. 3D bioprinting technology for the manufacture of biological structures, as a rule, includes the placement of cells on a biocompatible basis, using a layer-by-layer method for generating three-dimensional structures of biological tissues.
Since tissues in the body are made up of different types of cells, the technologies for their fabrication by 3D bioprinting also differ significantly in their ability to ensure the stability and viability of cells. Some of the techniques that are used in 3D bioprinting are photolithography, magnetic bioprinting, stereolithography, and direct cell extrusion. The cell material produced on a bioprinter is transferred to an incubator, where it is further grown.
3D bioprinting can be used in regenerative medicine to transplant essential tissues and organs. Compared to 3D printing from inorganic materials, there are complicating factors in bioprinting, such as the choice of materials, cell types, their growth and differentiation factors, as well as technical difficulties associated with cell sensitivity and tissue formation.
To solve these problems, the interaction of technologies from the field of engineering, biomaterials science, cell biology, physics and medicine is necessary. 3D bioprinting is already being used to grow and transplant several tissues, including stratified epithelium, bone, vascular grafts, tracheal splints, heart tissue and cartilage structures. Other applications for 3D bioprinting include high pharmacodynamic tissue modeling for research purposes as well as drug development and toxicological analysis.
CRISPR
The rapid development of CRISPR gene editing technology owes its ability to treat genetic pathologies. Unfortunately, despite the huge amount of research work in this area, for many patients such treatment remains inaccessible: the safety of the method leaves much to be desired, a change in the genetic material often entails undesirable consequences.
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CRISPR is a new genome editing technology for higher organisms based on the immune system of bacteria. This system is based on special regions of bacterial DNA, short palindromic cluster repeats, or CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats). Between identical repeats are located different DNA fragments - spacers, many of which correspond to parts of the genomes of viruses parasitizing on a given bacterium. When a virus enters a bacterial cell, it is detected using specialized Cas-proteins (CRISPR-associated sequence) associated with CRISPR RNA.
If a fragment of the virus is “written” in a CRISPR RNA spacer, Cas proteins cut the viral DNA and destroy it, protecting the cell from infection. In early 2013, several groups of scientists showed that CRISPR / Cas systems can work not only in bacterial cells, but also in cells of higher organisms, which means that CRISPR / Cas systems make it possible to correct incorrect gene sequences and thus treat hereditary diseases human.
Active use of big data and IoT
In the West, this trend was outlined back in 2015-2016, when the largest pharmaceutical companies began to use the services of data centers for collecting and processing data, as well as using various peripheral devices to obtain meaningful information about potential drug consumers.
Global Data experts expect that the volume of software and IoT services markets in the pharmaceutical industry will grow to $ 2.4 billion by 2020. The growth trend assumes the active development of big data and investments in the corresponding infrastructure.
The most striking example of the use of IoT in the West is the experience of Amazon and the use of the AWS platform for medical and pharmaceutical purposes. The cloud array helps simplify the implementation of technological innovations in the pharmaceutical industry, simplifies the application and integration for the needs of the pharmaceutical development of high performance computing and machine learning. The company plans a new service that will simplify the work with clinical data recording systems, prescription of drugs, as well as the choice of drugs at the best cost.
It is assumed that the new Amazon service will provide tips on how to better treat patients and save on drugs. The company plans to include in the service recognition of medical records and the ability to give voice recommendations. The company even said that "medical" handwriting would not be a problem for recognition.
Operations in virtual reality
Healthcare is one of the most important and practical industries for augmented and virtual reality technologies. In modern laparoscopic operations, the image on the endoscope is complemented by the image obtained during intraoperative angiography. This allows the surgeon to know exactly where the tumor is inside the organ and thus minimize the loss of healthy tissue from the patient's organ during surgery to remove the tumor.
With the help of specialized software, doctors can develop models of individual prostheses based on patient scans. The creation of simulators based on virtual reality technologies can significantly improve the quality of training for doctors, cut costs and reduce the number of medical errors.
Bionic prostheses
Cybernetic hands are already being successfully marketed in the UK, France, and now in the US. On April 4, 2019, Open Bionics announced its partnership with the Hanger network of clinics, together with which they established the delivery of Hero Arm prostheses to America.
Robotic arms are 3D printed and can be made in 40 hours. Myoelectric sensors are embedded inside, allowing to read signals from muscles and the brain, reacting to them as quickly as possible. Thus, people with disabilities can live full lives again. According to the developers of Open Bionics, Hero Arm prostheses are incredibly accurate and intuitive. They also like children, because the engineers were inspired by the movie "Iron Man" and the game Deus Ex.
Bionic leg prostheses, in addition to the motor function, must provide effective shock absorption. Compact and efficient motors and high-capacity batteries help make these devices mobile and easy to use. Such technologies have a positive effect on the quality of modern prostheses, but cause their rise in price.
According to the American analytical company Frost & Sullivan, the price of modern improved prostheses ranges from $ 5,000 to $ 50,000.
3D printing technology has greatly influenced the availability of modern prostheses. It allows you to quickly and easily create inexpensive but functional prostheses, which reduces their final cost to the consumer and creates prospects for the development of the industry.
With the development of technology, a new type of prosthetics has appeared - augmentation, which involves not just replacing a lost organ, but also acquiring abilities that were not previously characteristic of humans.