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A new computational model developed by Alison Marsden and her team at Stanford University, may revolutionize the creation of artificial organs by drastically simplifying how blood vessel networks are designed. This advancement addresses a major challenge in bioengineered organs—providing a viable blood supply, essential for keeping lab-grown tissue alive.
Traditional approaches to designing vascular systems for 3D-printed organs are slow, taking days or even weeks. Marsden's team accelerated this process by using a mathematical model based on how real blood vessels branch. Their system designed a functional network of 25 vessels in minutes for a small ring-shaped kidney cell structure.
They then successfully printed this network using gelatin, which was melted to leave behind channels mimicking blood vessels. By pumping a nutrient-rich liquid through the channels, they were able to keep significantly more cells alive compared to an identical structure without vessels—demonstrating the critical importance of vascular networks in tissue survival.
Although challenges remain—particularly in designing smaller, more intricate capillaries—the breakthrough has been hailed as a major step toward printing full-sized organs for transplantation. The team aims to begin testing 3D-printed organs in pigs within five years, bringing the dream of lab-grown transplant organs closer to reality.
