User:Tttuon/3D Bioprinting

Evonda Tuon Professor Ian Porter Research Writing June 8, 2015 3D Printing As it evolves, 3D printing technology is transforming almost every major industry and will change the way we live and work in the future. 3D printing is the process of creating three dimensional objects by building it by sequential layers. 3D printing has been around for decades and the debate whether 3D printing is seen as a disruption to many industries is causing it to be a political, ethical or even a religious dilemma. As technology advances, mass production manufacturing will be able to efficiently produce products and can cause competition with traditional manufacturing. Impacts on the global economy will take a hit as companies or even any individual starts to utilize the technology and changes of the structure becomes more affordable. Industries such as healthcare will adapt to this innovation and the impact will revolutionize the entire system. 3D printing will initiate a new method that allows anyone to learn and follow through the advancement. It enables an individual to develop skills in a virtual model use it to their advantage to form creativity or engineering skills. Changes of medicine and healthcare is also developing a process of tissue engineering .A sub-category, bioprinting is allowing developers to create regenerating medicine that enables the following benefits of reducing the demand for organ donors, decrease illegal trade of human organs and creating lower cost prosthetics. According to Gartner Inc., the analyst firm, bioprinting will grow much faster than the general understanding of the consequences of this 3D printing technology. With this, printing human body parts is becoming real and may be available in the near future. Bioprinting offers the opportunity to create human body parts, and possibly a human. Although 3D printing offers many benefits, it also brings along challenges like causing disruption to both laws, patents, and businesses. This technological advancement may not seem like a noticeable difference but, it is definitely becoming an essential tool of the works of many industries because it can be a possible threat to either regulate or ban the subcategory of bioprinting. Since the Industrial Revolution, traditional manufacturing has always been done with assembly lines, factories, machine tools, or supply chains. According to Atlantic Council, “Traditional manufacturing has fueled the industrial revolution that has enabled our world today, yet it contains inherent limitations that point to the need for new approaches.” (Atlantic Council 1) It has been recognized that the application of 3D printing in manufacturing is reshaping product development and is becoming an economical alternative for a wide range of small and large businesses. 3D printing is known as an addictive manufacturing practice for many people, it “…hit $3.1 billion dollars, according to a report from industry group Wohlers Associates.” (Preimesberger 1) 3D printing provides services such as prototyping and manufacturing and it also opens up new frontiers to compete with corporations. Instead of investing money by sending in a design to a company and waiting for the result or response, anyone can quickly produce a prototype for a fraction of the cost compared to the traditional process. This creates opportunities for any individual to gain access and make any design, replacement parts, or molds without having to invest a lot of money or time. For this reason, in the article “Why the Mysterious Process of 3D Printing Could Enable Big Business “…proponents claim that the process will change the way we produce everything from automobiles to prosthetics to food. It can also change the way we do business in industries ranging from high tech to health care.” (Preimesberger 1) A Palo Alto, California based company called Shapify has created a walk-in 3D printing business. Anyone can go in, “get a full body scan in twelve seconds, see a preview within seven minutes and then take home a doll-like likeness in seven days…corresponding prices go from $79 to $199.” (Preimesberger 1) Businesses such as Shapify demonstrates that “…production and distribution of material products could begin to be de-globalized as production [as it] is brought closer to the consumer.” (Atlantic Council 2) According to Gartner, “the overall success rates of 3D printing uses cases in emerging regions will escalate for three main reasons: the increasing ease of access and commoditization of the technology and because it simplifies supply chain issues with getting medical devices to these regions,” (Gartner 1) This means that more people will be able to have access to this technology, especially in poor areas. This will create a market that will be able to accommodate more consumers who are in desperate need of this technology. For example, in 2013, Hangzhou Dianzi University in China invented a biomaterical 3D printer “Regenovo” that was able to print out a small kidney which lasted for four months. The kidney and other organs that are printed out through bioprinting will have the same ability and functions as a real human kidney, however without no blood vessels or nerves, and consisting of only cells that can only live for approximately four months or so. “Nonetheless, researchers behind the project hope their printed kidneys can help millions of people whose survival depends on organ transplants. Xu Mingen, one of the researchers, says that in China less than 1% of patients who need organ transplants are able to get them. However, the goal of producing a living organ for transplant could still be around 10 to 15 years away.” (Morgan 1) While 3D printing has come a long way of a long line of technological achievements, it is one of the biggest breakthrough in modern medicine. Also at Cornell University, researchers were able to print out a human ear. “Cornell bioengineers and physicians have created an artificial ear that looks and acts like a natural ear, giving new hope to thousands of children born with a congenital deformity called microtia.” (Cornell University 1) Doctors insisted that ear replacement through bioprinting will help individuals who have lost any external part of their ear due to an accident or cancer. Bioengineers and doctors are utilizing science and medicine as an alternative to help patients have 3D printed artificial counter parts that make up from what they lack rather than, improve something that does not need improvement. Medical consent laws and medical ethics. The FDA has strict safety and efficacy standards for implants made from a patient's own cells because the whole idea is to make a transplant using ones’ own cells rather than a complete stranger. There are guidelines that have been issued to handle individuals being exposed to new medical technologies. Administrators in healthcare are regulating donor problems cells and tissue for informed consent.  Aside from many questionable things regarding printing human cells, Gartner's research also shows that “3D printing technology could be exploited by people looking to steal intellectual property as it will become much easier to quickly replicate products are parts of products using 3D printers. Due to reduced supply chain and product development costs, criminals will be more easily able to produce counterfeit products that can be sold at a discount, but the questionable quality of these goods would put consumers, enterprises and even the military at risk, particularly if counterfeit components are used.” (Gartner 1) Gartner also indicates that 3D printing will change society models and instead of seeing it as a medical improvement in the world, it will be a threat for intellectual property. This will impact a huge result of losses for companies that hold those licenses to be able to 3D print. Another issue of concern is that regulations and ethics may be disregarded and create facilities catering to individuals such as athletes and people seeking body modification for personal satisfaction or to gain an edge for themselves. Instead of bioprinting for improving human bodies like missing limbs or surgery, bioprinting will be seen as a cosmetic surgery where anyone may feel entitle to the technology. A person may feel that their legs are not long enough, and jump on the idea of just printing out a new pair of legs using their own tissues. Though this process or surgery may seem very risky and incapable of science and medicine, these type of scenario may come by in the near future when bioprinting becomes more complex. This type of behavior that our society may engage in makes it a possible idea to ban the whole technology advancement completely. The future is seen to be the height of addictive manufacturing and medical science in the bio printing research firm. The Gartner Inc. trusts in the face that bio printing is rapid development will trigger noises to terminate the advancement in technology in both humans and non-human tissue in less than two year.