Here are five takeaways:
1. The program is conducted at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada.
2. The infant heart surgery practice program overcomes several deficiencies that include a lack of hearts to practice on.
3. The heart surgery practice program involves scanning the hearts of real infant patients with congenital defects and replicas are then built with 3-D printers. The hearts may be a bit more difficult to work with than human tissue, but that actually offers an advantage, where the actual surgery may be much easier.
4. Multiple replicas can be printed at little costs, so the problem of a lack of hearts is solved.
5. Dr. Yoo expects the properties of composites used to print the models will also improve, and as the 3-D printing technology advances, with advancements in the medical field, it may be possible to print cells around a scaffolding, which eventually disintegrates to leave a working human heart.
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