36 replies to this topic

[A941]

Ive read an article in the german Spiegel about Paul Calvert of the University of Massachusetts who is using inkjet-printers to print cells and maybe one day use these techniques to print whole organs.
Ive read that they have a few problems with keeping the cells alive durning printing, do you think that biology-laiman like we could do something to collect data from differernt printers and help to improve this process?
Would it be a good idea to write an email to the researchers and as if we could be of any assistence?

[bacopa]

I know the company Organavo is doing this and they are working in tandem with the Methuselah Foundation. YOu're idea is a good one, but i cannot help in this way.

[A941]

Hm, then we should ask some one who could help us, maybe someone of the Directors or BJ himself.
The Imminst could write a letter to Calbert and Organavo.

Ill write a PM to Mind, and ask him about that.

[Mind]

Imminst could help out in some way, I suppose, but it would take a concerted effort and we have too many other things going on right now. This is something Imminst could look at again in the near future.

[A941]

Imminst could help out in some way, I suppose, but it would take a concerted effort and we have too many other things going on right now. This is something Imminst could look at again in the near future.

No, i meant that WE the Users, not imminst as organisation, should do the research.
What i would want from imminst would, maybe, be a new subforum and a little publicity on its page, something like a frame for our further actions to get enough attention to get things rolling.
If that would work and we would be able to bring more people together we could make our own website like Fab@home and Reprap which are building Rapid-Prototypers.

At the moment I dont even know if we would be of great use for the professional Scientists, but i would like to ask them, and at the moment i have no forum and even if i would put one online it would take a while till we would have enough users to start something usefull, so i want to ask imminst if the organisation could provide something like a forum to start these thing.
Therfore i ask imminst to get in contact with the experts cause Iam not an imminst-functionary of any kind and so i cant speak on behalf of the organisation.

[A941]

Now i think it would be an interessting idea to make a site dedicated to "Printer-Hacking" for scientific use.
Is anyone here who is interessted to do something in that direction?

[air90]

The latest version of Organovo's printer is what? $200,000?

[niner]

The latest version of Organovo's printer is what? $200,000?

My HP printer cost $70, but the ink is really expensive. Ergo, Organovo's cell-ink must be really cheap!

Here's the organ-printing website from the Forgacs lab at U of Missouri: http://organprint.missouri.edu/www/

[A941]

I wrote an email to Dr. Paul Calvert, and he wrote back and explaind the current Problems in this field of research, here is his response:

Interesting thought. We have developed our own systems but there are many more researchers who would like to use the printers if it were easier.

Our standard system is an HP cartridge and holder mounted on a robotic system to move it over a substrate. The substrates may be glass slides or other rigid sheets. This lets us print many cycles over the same line or area. It depends on the older HP cartridges.

The kinds of information that would make a difference would be:
how to make the printhead spit drops on demand without going through the page setup system,
how to drive the left-right motion without the paper transport being present
how to tune the drop delivery pulse for different inks

this could be for any of the current commercial printers.

Ideally this would be on a website where different research groups could look for advice.

There are, of course, industrial printheads that do all this but they are generally too expensive to be disposable whereas the sort of inks we print tend to clog or corrode heads after a few days of use.

Sincerely,

Paul Calvert

I think it would be ok to start a Site with a PHP-Forum and a wiki, problem is iam not that good in PHP.
Anyone here who could help with php?
Any other suggestions before we start?
Who from the imminst forums wants to help?


EDIT:Give me a few ideas for the topics of the Main-Forums and the sub-forums. (I myself think it would be good to have a forum where the users can come together and exchange hardware)

Edited by A941, 27 April 2010 - 03:34 PM.

[A941]

Is there a PHP-programer in the Audience?

[JLL]

What do you need PHP for?

[A941]

For the forum.
And as far as they do not come in the shape I would need them there will be some modifications to do.
Or could this be done by these php-nuke-forums, have they developed far enough to be modified in an useful way?

[KalaBeth]

There's all kinds of off-the-shelf forum packages - what really needs to be tweaked, other than setting up the forums?
Do you have a domain and all that in mind already? Or would they be hosted here? (If so - why not just add an industry-specific "room" here?)

[A941]

There's all kinds of off-the-shelf forum packages - what really needs to be tweaked, other than setting up the forums?
Do you have a domain and all that in mind already? Or would they be hosted here? (If so - why not just add an industry-specific "room" here?)

I want to start my own page (at the moment I have no Idea how to call it) with Forum, chat, blog, linklist, wiki etc.
The whole thing should be funded with Advertisments etc.

Ive allready made an overview of the sites structure, it would be fine if someone could give me a few suggestions for subforums etc.

Main site
-Blog
-Forum
--Forum about Biology in general
--Forum about Printers
---Software
---Electronics
---Interfaces and cables
---Inkjet-heads
---Cartridges
---Motors/Stepper motors
---Feder-systems
---Power Supply
---Plastic housings
---Cleaning Printer Parts
---Other
--forum for guides (How-to's)
---Video section
---Documents
---Other
--Forum for the exchange of Hardware
---I need/ Iam searching for...
---I have to offer...
---Help with Transport
---Other
--Regional Forums
---North America
---South America
---Europe
---Asia
---Afrika
---Oceania
---Other
--Other Discussions not related to main topic (Offtopic)
--About the Forum
---Suggestions / Feedback
---Technical Support
---News and Updates
-chat
-Wiki about printers, tissue engineering and biomimetic materials
-List with useful links

[Medical Time Travel]

Your initiative is excellent. I appreciate it very much. I will help you as much as I can. I recently lost a woman I know. She were heart transplanted one time and needed a second transplant. She could not be retransplanted because they discovered anti-serum in her blood. She died 25 years old (1985-2010). I'm devastated.

Edited by Medical Time Travel, 01 May 2010 - 09:07 PM.

[Medical Time Travel]

If that would work and we would be able to bring more people together we could make our own website like Fab@home and Reprap which are building Rapid-Prototypers.

Methuselah Foundation Funds Silverstone Solutions' Proprietary MatchMaker Technology, Accelerating Efforts to Extend Healthy Human Life

After reading what you wrote it came to my attention that your thinking could manifest in something like the cooperation between Methuselah Foundation/Silverstone Solutions.

A sort of a "subsidiary" coming out of Methuselah Foundation/Organovo Inc. Maybe someone should come up with something more concrete and mail Dave Gobel?

Edited by Medical Time Travel, 02 May 2010 - 02:24 PM.

[Medical Time Travel]

The disruptive future of printing

BBC article:

http://news.bbc.co.u...gy/10089419.stm

http://reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page

[Medical Time Travel]

I would like to see more work and results from you. I like your initiative. What's your motivations? I have lost someone I know.

[Luna]

Setting up forums is easy! if you have a host I can easily help you or instruct you how to set a forum system just like imminst.

Edit: Maybe they should contact HP themselves with the important of their project and ask them if they can work together on having a specialized printer for organs printing, research and development
It will be a really good idea to suggest it and even more if it became true!

Edited by Luna, 03 May 2010 - 08:21 AM.

[Da55id]

Hi Folks - I'm very open to a discussion on this topic. Specifically, we are going to develop a NewOrgan Registry to surface and organize the appx 2 - 3 million folks internationally that need organs but are not on any list anywhere because they are deemed to medically be "not a candidate" for a transplant. We are partnering with Silverstone to design/produce this registry, and then MF will operate it under the NewOrgan Network.org URL. Our vision is that this effort will accelerate the engineering of new organs and all intermediate tissues leading to such organs so that these people's lives may be saved, and so that humankind will never ever again suffer from parts shortages. From a longevity extension standpoint it seems self evident why this would be a good thing. What would be helpful is if any on Imminst would want to volunteer for the next 6 months or so to help brainstorm the registry and to help grow the NewOrgan Network population. If you want to volunteer or if Imminst wants to do something more collaboratively audacious, please email me directly. Devon Fowler and Kevin P know my email address - (too dangerous to post here)

the long term vision is that your biogenic info held in the NewOrgan Registry can be linked directly to a bioprinter and then printed out - BioPostscript. It's a good ways off, but it's foreseeable.

Cheers,
Dave

If that would work and we would be able to bring more people together we could make our own website like Fab@home and Reprap which are building Rapid-Prototypers.

Methuselah Foundation Funds Silverstone Solutions' Proprietary MatchMaker Technology, Accelerating Efforts to Extend Healthy Human Life

After reading what you wrote it came to my attention that your thinking could manifest in something like the cooperation between Methuselah Foundation/Silverstone Solutions.

A sort of a "subsidiary" coming out of Methuselah Foundation/Organovo Inc. Maybe someone should come up with something more concrete and mail Dave Gobel?

[caliban]

There are a couple of different sugestions here

Ive read that they have a few problems with keeping the cells alive durning printing, do you think that biology-laiman like we could do something to collect data from differernt printers and help to improve this process?

Now i think it would be an interessting idea to make a site dedicated to "Printer-Hacking" for scientific use.

What would be helpful is if any on Imminst would want to volunteer for the next 6 months or so to help brainstorm the registry and to help grow the NewOrgan Network population.

The forums are a big place. If you want to propose any kind of concrete action, make sure you do so in the 'Project Ideas' subforum, where this thread has now been moved to.

[A941]

Setting up forums is easy! if you have a host I can easily help you or instruct you how to set a forum system just like imminst.

Edit: Maybe they should contact HP themselves with the important of their project and ask them if they can work together on having a specialized printer for organs printing, research and development
It will be a really good idea to suggest it and even more if it became true!

This could be a good Idea, but I dont know if the companys which build printers would like it.
They would have to reveal Information which could be used by their competitors, also they would not like their printers to be used in that way, cause they sell printers below their production costs to sell the espensive ink.

But we should ask them, maybe its not the way I think it is.

[Medical Time Travel]

Dave Gobel, CEO Methuselah Foundation asked Organovo Inc to give away the printers to the universities and they did. I think you should ask Organovo Inc and also mail Gobel and ask him more specific about how he got them to send them away from free after MF invested in Organovo Inc.

[Luna]

Well, if a printer company has any common sense at all, they will feel it is a good thing if they can help making an organ printer.

But maybe we can contact the RepRap project and ask them? They might be more than happy to help to even design a printer for for this.
http://reprap.org/wiki/Main_Page

[John Schloendorn]

RepRap project

RepRap and organ printing... I like that combination :-)

[AgeVivo]

This thread sounds very interesting but I'm new to this subject and not able to understand. Could someone explain in say 5 lines what you mean by printing organs with a usual printer and whath one can do at home and at which price? Also the title of the thread is not very appealing. Perhaps it should have a subtitle such as "you can help at home"

[A941]

So, Ive sent a request for help with the Site-structure to the Reprapers, and I hope theyll be able to help, maybe theyll give me some other suggestions.
At the End Ill send the final draft to Dr. Calvert and Ask him to take a last look at it.

[A941]

In many of the Biology-Forums my request was not added, they told me they see it as and advertisement for another site.
The site dosent even exist jet, people are so narrow-minded, damn.

[Luna]

So, Ive sent a request for help with the Site-structure to the Reprapers, and I hope theyll be able to help, maybe theyll give me some other suggestions.
At the End Ill send the final draft to Dr. Calvert and Ask him to take a last look at it.

I am not sure why you asked RepRap fpr help with the site, the ideas was help with printer because they created a 3D printer, open source too.

[A941]

So, Ive sent a request for help with the Site-structure to the Reprapers, and I hope theyll be able to help, maybe theyll give me some other suggestions.
At the End Ill send the final draft to Dr. Calvert and Ask him to take a last look at it.

I am not sure why you asked RepRap fpr help with the site, the ideas was help with printer because they created a 3D printer, open source too.

I asked for suggestions for the site/forum structure and Ideas for Forums and subforums, cause it is better to have all thge things you need in your forum from the start, so it could be much easier for the Users to find what they search for.