While conditions regarding long-term bodily health are continuous issues, the recent increase in the rate of chronic disease, along with an increasing elderly population, have led to an increased need for organ transplantation and repair. Organ donation levels continuously misalign with the amount of people in need of replacement and aid, but an emerging field combining biology, medicine, and engineering may hold the solution and the cure for many life-threatening diseases.
An Introduction to the BME
Biomedical engineers work to develop, and elevate the existing designs of, wearable and implanted bodily technology. BME workers improve prosthetics, drug delivery systems, external and internal monitors, and other devices, while finding more cost efficient and minimally invasive solutions to life-altering conditions. Since biomedical engineers have many different areas to specialize in, they can work in a variety of locations, like desk job research and development, laboratory testing, and on-site in medical facilities providing information on new technology.
Specialized devices created by biomedical engineers allow for people with terminal conditions to live longer and healthier lives. Person-specific instruments and organs must have the efficiency, adjustability, and safety of both product and procedure evaluated. A replacement’s materials, sizing, and mass transfer efficiency are all factors determining acclimatization and function. Artificial organs physically must be fitted and made with durable and internally-safe biomaterials, while functionally their mass transfer efficiency ensures the replacement is an effective exchange. Manufactured organs must also be adjustable, in order to change with the patient’s internal state. New technology focusing on enhancing this aspect through 3D printing.
The Origins of Artificial Organs
Though becoming more prevalent and advanced today, the practice of creating organs and body systems from synthetic materials has been around for much longer. The first successful implant of an artificial heart was in 1957, designed and created by the “father of the artificial organ”, Willem J. Kolff, an immigrant from the Netherlands. Kolff went on to become a professor at the University of Utah for internal medicine, surgery, and bioengineering. His design was later remodeled and improved upon by American scientist Robert Jarvik, with the new Jarvik-7 heart setting the groundwork for many pulmonary aid devices and artificial organs to come.
Pioneers in the Field
The mission of United Therapeutics, the first public benefit biotechnology company, is to increase the availability of artificial organs and to further new treatments for rare diseases. UT is an industry leader in xenotransplantation and perfusion decellularization for creating human-safe organs from animal scaffolding. Xenotransplantation refers to altering the genetic makeup of an animal organ to make it compatible with human anatomy. This process has allowed UT to produce three product lines with their subsidiary Revivicor, the UKidney, UThymoKidney, and UHeart. Perfusion decellularization is the biomedical term for stripping the cells of an animal organ, leaving an acellular matrix to be populated by the patient’s own.
Safi Biotherapeutics is a corporation focussed on the manufacturing of adult red blood cells for military organizations, chronic blood disorders, and civilian trauma centers. Manufactured red blood cells, mRBCs, alleviate the need for condition heavy donor blood, meaning emergency response vehicles and isolated medical facilities now perform much faster transfusions. Safi’s mRBCs are also sold to other pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies. The field behind the blood-flow physics of mRBCs is hemodynamics, dedicated to studying the circulatory system, which is advanced by every one of Safi’s breakthroughs and trials.
Biotechnology in the Future
Today’s biomedical engineers work in a flourishing new market, with global developments and technological advancements aiding in production. Recent incorporation of artificial intelligence allows biotechnicians more humane and efficient testing by erasing the need for animal subjects. AI sensor systems are also allowing for less invasive wireless programming and monitoring of implanted devices. Stem cell research is propelling advancement in 3D printed organs, which are currently less reliable than biological replacements and can be fully biomaterial-based or biohybrid. Biohybrid organs are a printed matrice populated by patient cell-based tissue, providing better sizing and adaptation. Attempts for membrane-synthetic organs with regenerative properties, meaning the ability for internal-repair, are currently underway. These developments are enhancing the devices created by biomedical engineering and the quality of life of those who use them.
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