Doctors train on 3D printed hearts

[Catherine]

At first glance this may seem like an odd topic to post.
Think about it. Doctors and scientists do need to train and that has involved the use of lab animals.
If they can print out special hearts for heart surgeons to train on, what else can they print out.  This could be the beginning of cruelty free/ lab animal free training for doctors and scientists.

http://news.nationalpost.com/health/3d-p...-surgeries


I think it would make a real difference if doctors could learn without killing.

Our whole lab animal industry does not need to exist. Special printers can produce every thing we need. It may take years before this happens, but it could be done. After all, they are printing artificial limbs for humans and animals. Why not print lab specimens. They would all be the same so it would be easier to teach students.

I am seeing all kinds of other possibilities. There is no limit to what they can print. The printers will become better and the material used for the printing will improve. Maybe there are food possibilities for the future.

[Ruth]

Yes, I hope they will stop experimenting on the innocent animals. It's deplorable what they do to them. What an awful life for an animal to be a lab study.

[Catherine]

I am hoping 3D printed tissue can be used in place of most lab animals. Certainly for dissection/training the 3D material would be better than a lab animal.

We could see a world where animals are not used in labs.

Who knows, if they can grow animal protein in the lab, they could 3D print "meat". It could look and taste the same and we could stop factory farming.

If we choose to look for alternatives, we can end animal cruelty.

[Ruth]

I eat a lot of meat alternatives. I hope they can stop torturing the animals.

[LPC]

Great find, Catherine! I didn't know about this development. It is highly significant, not only because it could persuade researchers and doctors to abandon the use of lab animals, but above all because it brings possiblities which are actually far better than using animals for practice.

According to the article:
"Three-dimensional copies have been created of five hearts from real infants with cardiac anomalies using a high-tech 3D-printer, which almost perfectly reproduces the organ’s structure using a photopolymer resin, based on sophisticated MRI and CT imaging."

That means that doctors can practice on an exact copy of the child's heart, including the defects, which must be massively superior to using laboratory animals whose physiology would not be 100% identical like the 3D copy is.

Although for animal lovers the ethical issue of using animals is paramount, for hard-headed scientists and medical people (some of whom regard animals as "expendible", even when severe pain is involved) this latest development could wean them away from using animals, because the new alternative is actually superior scientifically.

[Catherine]

My thoughts exactly. We will be able to produce better lab specimens than any lab animal could be. They would be easier to store and they would not need care like an animal would. For basic scientific reasons we could see and end to the practice of using lab animals.

I see the possibilities of meat alternatives as well. They could grow a type of animal tissue and then print it to have the texture and shape of meat. It would be a meat alternative that most people would like.

The possibilities are endless.