Journal summary
The journal describes in detail how a group of scientists were able to overcome the problem of current prosthetics not being able to adapt and grow if they are placed in younger patients. To solve this problem, they proposed a living prosthetic made of tissues that would grow, repair, and adapt itself to the growing patient. To develop this living prosthetic, they turned to 3D bioprinting. A process where the tissues are built cell by cell out of a printer and layered appropriately. Prior to this experiment you essentially could only print with one "color" or cell type. In order to overcome this to print a complex aortic valve, which has 2 cell types, they printed a hydrogel that embodied the different cells. One hydrogell included one cell type and the second hydrogell had the second cell type.
Considering Larger Context
Who else cares about this topic?
This document is part of an ongoing conversation to discuss the limitations and improvements of the current prosthetic design and function in order to save lives. Doctors and tissue engineers, and biomedical engineering all are part of this conversation and are directing their writings at the circle of influential people to the conversation, meaning they are writing to themselves and their colleagues.
Ideas
3D bioprinting was referenced as old news in this journal. The group that published have been reworking the process using hydrogels in order to improve the application of 3D bioprinting in medical prosthetic use. Problems have been pointed out with abiotic mechanical prosthetics and 3D bioprinting allows living tissue to be used as a prosthetic. again issues were present that prevented widespread application of this technique and limited what could be replaced, until now.
Terms
There are terms in here that reflect an elitest community of professionals, but that is what to be expected from a medical academic journal. Assumptions of prior knowledge are made and the writers neglect what they look at as commonplace knowledge, that anyone who hasn't gone to med school will not know without the help of a dictionary.
Citations
There are many citations from other medical journal entries. Because of this, the paper almost seems like a specific section of a newspaper that includes of all of the works in the references. It is simply a part to whole, yet its own individual experiment and work done by the group of scientists.
Something that can be commented on while looking at the article is how practical will this method of growing bio prosthetics and of course comments on the affected population of people that this research effects. One thing I think we should mention about the method and machinery they use to do this is just a modified 3D printer that can work with cells without killing them. Something to really talk about and get people to understand from this article is not just what they are doing but who it affects and how they were capable of doing these things that the article talks about. Being able to make a massive improvement to the medical community with only slight improvements to the technology is a big thing to mention and talk about how millions of dollars were NOT needed to create the technology that is capable of doing this.
ReplyDeleteagreed
Delete