3D Stem Cell Printer Advances Efforts Towards Personalized Drug Screenings

A 3D printer capable of printing stem cells is advancing efforts towards the goal of patient-specific drug screening.
According to an article on Factor:

Known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), the printed cells maintain the ability to make specialised cells, including liver, heart and brain cells, which can be used to test specific drugs.
Developed by a team from Heriot-Watt University’s School of Engineering and Physical Sciences and described in a paper published in the journal Biofabrication, the printer builds on their previous work, where they created a valve-based 3D printer that could print lab-grown stem cells without causing damage.
However, while the earlier version worked with stem cells grown from long ago-harvested embryonic stem cells, which only offer the potential for generalised drug testing, the new version has increased sensitivity, allowing it to work with iPS, which are specific to individuals.

Click here to read the full article on Factor.