Can we print the human body?

Researcher provides his viewpoint on the long-term outlook for printing the human body.

3D printing is revolutionizing the world, and the field of medicine is no exception. U-M researchers are already printing replacement human body parts such as ears and noses. We asked Biomedical Engineering Professor Scott Hollister to explain the process to us, and what he believes the long-term outlook is for printing the human body.

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR: Scott Hollister is a professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. His research group, the Scaffold Tissue Engineering Group (STEG), develops biomaterial platform systems (termed scaffolds) for tissue reconstruction. The STEG specifically focuses on the computational design, manufacturing and pre-clinical testing of degradable scaffold material systems.