No more waiting on a list.

再也不需要在名單上等待了。

Well, a team of biomedical engineers from Carnegie Mellon University are bringing us closer to that reality.

好吧，來自卡內基梅隆大學的生物醫學工程師團隊正在讓我們更接近這個現實。

Say hello to the first flexible full-size 3D print of a human heart.

跟第一個靈活的全尺寸3D打印的人類心臟打招呼。

This heart mimics the structure and elasticity of the real thing!

這顆心模仿了真品的結構和彈性!

The invention promises advances for the medical field, and future iterations could one day save someone's life.

這項發明有望為醫療領域帶來進步，未來的迭代可能有一天會挽救某人的生命。

You've definitely seen this kind of printer before.

你肯定見過這種打印機。

This is a kind of additive manufacturing printer, where each layer is supported by a sturdy layer below.

這是一種增材製造打印機，每一層都由下面的堅固層支撐。

Additive manufacturing printers are popular, but are typically known to build hard objects using materials like plastic or metal.

增材製造打印機很受歡迎，但通常被稱為使用塑膠或金屬等材料製造硬物。

But rigid plastic organs aren't very practical.

但剛性的塑膠機關並不是很實用。

These printers could be used with softer materials, like biological hydrogels—you know, to make a heart—

這些打印機可以使用較軟的材料，如生物水凝膠--你知道，做一個心臟--。

but those tend to collapse mid-print.

但這些往往會在印刷中崩潰。

But this new method can change the game.

但這種新方法可以改變遊戲。

The 3D-printing technique is called Freeform Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels or FRESH.

這種3D打印技術被稱為Freeform Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels或FRESH。

It can print biological structures with soft squishy materials like alginate,

它可以用海藻酸鹽等軟質透明材料打印生物結構。

a biomaterial made from seaweed, which feels like human tissue.

一種由海藻製成的生物材料，感覺就像人體組織。

AND it cleverly solves that collapsing problem during print by suspending flexible materials inside a container of gelatin.

而且它通過將柔性材料懸掛在明膠容器內，巧妙地解決了打印過程中的摺疊問題。

It's like hair gel…but with body parts in it.

就像髮膠一樣......但裡面有身體部位。

So, how does it all work?

那麼，這一切是如何進行的呢？

For this team of researchers it all starts with a MRI scan from a real heart.

對於這個研究團隊來說，這一切都要從真實心臟的核磁共振掃描開始。

The scan gets “chopped-up” digitally into horizontal slices by a program which then translates them into code

掃描被程序以數字方式 "切成 "水準片，然後將其轉化為代碼。

that a printer will understand.

打印機能理解的。

A needle-like nozzle moves through the gelatin support bath,

一個針狀噴嘴在明膠支撐槽中移動。

extruding thin layers of alginate.

擠出薄層海藻酸鹽。

The layers stack on top of each other to build the shape.

層層疊加，構築造型。

When the print is complete, it's put in an incubator overnight,

打印完成後，要放在培養箱裡過夜。

where the temperature is raised to 37°C to gently melt away the gelatin support structure,

其中，溫度提高到37℃，以輕輕融化明膠支撐結構。

leaving only the 3D-printed heart.

只留下3D打印的心臟。

In this full-size test, they were able to reproduce features as thin as 2 sheets of paper,

在這次全尺寸測試中，他們能夠重現薄至2張紙的特徵。

and in smaller-scale tests, they managed to get them as fine as a human hair.

並在較小規模的測試中，他們成功地讓它們像人的頭髮一樣細。

3D-hearts have been printed before, but they've been small—

3D-hearts以前也曾被打印過，但都是小尺寸的-------。

more fit for a rabbit or a mouse than a human.

比起人，更適合兔子或老鼠。

Full-sized, 3D-printed hearts can also be used as educational tools to help surgeons prepare for surgery.

全尺寸的3D打印心臟還可以作為教育工具，幫助外科醫生為手術做準備。

Older surgical models are made of rigid plastic or rubber, so they're helpful for planning,

老的手術模型是由硬質塑膠或橡膠製成的，所以它們對規劃很有幫助。

but limited because surgeons can't interact with them like real tissue.

但受到限制，因為外科醫生不能像真正的組織一樣與它們互動。

FRESH hearts can be cut and sewn-up, just like a real heart.

新鮮的心可以被剪開，縫起來，就像真的心一樣。

Now surgeons can use these more realistic models to refine surgical techniques

現在，外科醫生可以利用這些更真實的模型來完善手術技術。

and test their tools in advance of the actual surgery.

並在實際手術前測試其工具。

So their practice test isn't…you!

所以，他們的模擬考試不是......你!

And one of the coolest parts, is it could be a print of your specific heart!

而最酷的部分之一，是它可以是你特定的心臟的打印!

This will allow hospitals to personalize replacement tissues.

這將使醫院可以個性化地更換組織。

For example, if you have a blocked artery and need a stent put into your real heart,

例如，如果你有動脈堵塞，需要在你的真實心臟中放一個支架。

the surgeon can test the stent with the 3D printed heart to make sure it's a good fit.

外科醫生可以用3D打印的心臟來測試支架，以確保它是合適的。

They are beginning to use this technology to help design functional parts that in the past have been hard to get right.

他們開始使用這種技術來幫助設計過去很難做好的功能部件。

Collagen-printed tri-leaflet heart valves are able to open and close,

膠原蛋白印製的三葉式心臟瓣膜能夠打開和關閉。

and printed coronary arteries help move blood around the body.

和印製的冠狀動脈幫助血液在體內流動。

Even ventricles made with cardiac muscle cells can visibly contract and start to synchronize.

即使是用心肌細胞製成的心室，也能明顯收縮，開始同步。

All this is great, but it's not yet a functional beating heart.

這些都很好，但它還不是一顆能跳動的心臟。

Scaling up from an artery to the real deal is no small matter.

從動脈擴展到真正的交易不是一件小事。

Using actual human tissues as “bio-ink” for an organ-printer can be prohibitively expensive at the volumes needed.

使用實際的人體組織作為器官打印機的 "生物墨水"，在所需的數量上是非常昂貴的。

According to one source, a heart made out of alginate is $10 bucks.

據一位消息人士透露，用海藻酸鹽做的心臟是10塊錢。

The same heart made out of collagen: $2000.

同樣用膠原蛋白做的心臟：2000元。

But if you're on the waiting list for this essential organ, you might be willing to pay any price!

但如果你在等待這個重要器官的名單上，你可能願意付出任何代價!

Time is also a factor.

時間也是一個因素。

Currently, a full-scale FRESH model takes 4 days to complete.

目前，一個完整的FRESH模型需要4天才能完成。

If we printed with living cells at that rate, many would die during the process.

如果我們以這樣的速度用活細胞打印，很多人會在過程中死亡。

To make a full-size heart you need billions of cells.

要製造一個全尺寸的心臟，你需要數十億個細胞。

Current technology can only produce a fraction of that, so there's still a long way to go.

目前的技術只能生產其中的一小部分，所以還有很長的路要走。

Even if a fully-functional heart can't be created now, the team at Carnegie Mellon is already hard at work

即使現在不能創造出一個全功能的心臟，卡內基梅隆大學的團隊也已經在努力工作了。

refining the FRESH technology so it can build more complex models.

完善FRESH技術，使其能夠建立更復雜的模型。

One day these printed tissues could be used to test drugs more safely,

有一天，這些打印的組織可以用來更安全地測試藥物。

decrease animal testing, and even replace or repair damaged organs with a new healthy 3D-printed duplicate.

減少動物試驗，甚至用新的健康的3D打印複製品替換或修復受損器官。

One thing we can count on for sure is they're really putting their hearts into it.

有一點我們可以肯定的是，他們是真的用心在做。

If you thought 3D printed hearts were cool check out this video on how researchers are using light to print in 3D.

如果你覺得3D打印的心臟很酷，請看這段視頻，研究人員是如何利用光來進行3D打印的。

If you got any cool tech that we really need to know about, let us know down in the comments.

如果你有什麼酷炫的技術，我們真的需要知道，讓我們在評論中知道下來。

Make sure to subscribe to Seeker and thanks so much for watching.

請一定要訂閱《探索者》，非常感謝您的觀看。