Bioprinting set to revolutionize primary health care by lowering costs and expediting services

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Primary health care is currently affected by numerous challenges. For one, physician shortage is becoming a serious issue. It is estimated that there will be a shortage of 86,000 physicians in the United States by 2036. The rapidly aging population will further put a strain on health care resources.

However, bioprinting might be an innovative solution to address the physician shortage issue and the need to make primary health care more efficient and easily accessed. The technology allows using live cells and biomaterial to 3D print viable tissues and organs which can later be used for transplantation, disease management, and other areas. The process can also free up the schedules of primary care physicians, at the same time speeding up the recovery of patients.

Shorter patient recovery timeline

Vidmantas Šakalys
_{© Vital 3D Technologies}

Suffering from physician shortages and lengthy treatments in serious medical cases, health care personnel struggle to provide the needed assistance efficiently. Bioprinting can transform this process by offering personalized solutions for diagnostics and treatments.

For instance, people who suffer from severe burns or chronic wounds often require long periods of treatment and numerous surgeries. However, since bio-printed skin grafts are custom-created specifically for certain wounds, they can accelerate the recovery period.

To create bioprinted skin grafts, cells are harvested by taking a small biopsy of the patient’s skin. These cells are then cultured in a laboratory to multiply and generate enough cells for the bioprinting process. Personalized skin grafts can integrate better with the body and reduce the risk of immune rejection. As the bioprinted graft fits the wound seamlessly, there is less need for follow-up surgeries and extended medical care post-op. Physicians can take advantage of bioprinting to reduce their workload and concentrate on other complex cases.

In a well-equipped laboratory, a simple bioprinted skin graft of one square centimeter could be ready in under 24 hours. The bioprinting process itself can take between 30 minutes to two hours. Afterward, the skin graft must be incubated to allow the cells to proliferate and mature, forming a stable and functional tissue. Depending on the requirements, this can take hours to several days. More complex or higher-quality grafts need several days in the incubator to ensure they are fully functional and ready for clinical application. This on-demand tissue creation allows physicians to speed up the therapeutic process thereby reducing the overall treatment time.

Simultaneously, bioprinters can be used in locations that have limited access to medical care. Since tissues and organs can be bioprinted onsite, there is no need to transport patients to different health care facilities. This means the logistics of medical treatments can also be better adapted to suit both the health care personnel and the patients.

Bioprinted organs cut down on transplant waiting lists

Traditionally organ transplantation has been one of the most expensive treatments, requiring extensive medical resources. In the U.S., a kidney transplant can cost around $143,500 on average. However, patients not covered by health insurance might need to pay up to $260,000.

The demand for organs exceeds the supply, therefore patients often wait from three to five years. While they wait for the transplant, patients need to undergo dialysis which can take up to four hours per single session. Primary care physicians also play a significant role in monitoring transplant recipients’ health post-op.As a result, the health care system suffers from the intensive load needed for pre-and post-transplant surgery care.

On the other hand, bioprinting allows reducing the waiting times for transplants. Bioprinted biological structures are highly detailed and can be customized. Therefore, complication risks as well as wait times are reduced while the success rates of transplants are increased. By transforming the complex transplanting process, bioprinters can make it into a standard medical procedure more readily available for primary health care providers. More so, they can significantly reduce the workload for primary care physicians and other medical personnel, contributing to the creation of a more sustainable work environment.

New chapter for health management

To tackle physician shortages, medical establishments need to focus more on proactive rather than reactive health care management. Bioprinting can help physicians build patient-specific tissue models to better understand disease progression. Bioprinted tissues can also be used to test drugs, which would help physicians devise the most effective course of targeted treatment.

In fact, in the next several decades, bioprinting is set to make serious advancements in managing chronic illnesses, transforming the organ transplantation process, and creating personalized preventive care.

The developments in artificial intelligence (AI) further help maximize bioprinting's efficiency. Current research looks into various applications in the bioprinting process. For example, AI could automate the creation of 3D tissue models for optimal vascularization and cell differentiation. Likewise, computer vision algorithms can help monitor and adjust the bioprinting process in real time, ensuring precision and consistency in every layer. The reduced need for human intervention makes AI-driven bioprinting a scalable and cost-effective technology that alleviates strain on the medical system.

Although the applications for bioprinting in primary health care can be numerous, the widespread adoption of the technology is still affected by various regulatory challenges and ethical considerations. In both the United States and the European Union, no specific regulations concerning bioprinting have been issued so far. Bioprinted products are authorized on a case-by-case basis using existing regulatory frameworks. Depending on their intended use and composition, they may be classified as medical devices, biologics, or combination products.

Like all new technology, bioprinting needs to undergo extensive tests, and its complexity presents significant challenges to the approval process. Regulators must balance the need for innovation with ensuring the safety and efficacy of bioprinted products. Initial costs might be high, and access to bioprinted tissues can be limited, which, in turn, may affect the affordability and efficiency of treatments.

Integrating bioprinting technology into the primary health care system will require large investments and collaborative efforts. Nevertheless, a wider adoption of bioprinting can reduce costs and access hurdles. At the same time, investments will eventually pay off once medical provision time and treatment costs are reduced and primary health care is more efficient.

Vidmantas Šakalys is CEO of Vital 3D, a pioneering biotechnology company headquartered in Lithuania, dedicated to innovating advanced solutions in medical research, drug discovery, and regenerative medicine. He is a top-level business manager with broad working knowledge in technology innovations, invitation to tender management, and photonics management. He founded and led laser research start-up Femtika.