Louisville Scientists Plan to Build Human Heart With 3-D Printer

A University of Louisville (Ky.) research team hopes to one day create a human heart with a 3-D printer using a patient's own cells and some artificial parts.

The research teams believes they can print parts and assemble an entire hearth within five years, but it could be years beyond that before its ready to be placed in a person, according to a Louisville Business First report.

The first patients to receive the "bioficial heart" — a blend of natural and artificial — would most likely be those with failing hearts who are not candidates for artificial hearts, including children whose chests are too small for an artificial heart.

The University of Louisville team has already printed human heart valves and small veins with cells, and they have also successfully tested the tiny blood vessels in mice and other small animals, according the report.

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