Functional 3D Printed Organ Challenge
What is the Functional 3D Printed Organ Challenge?
This challenge will offer a multi million pound prize to the first team who can fabricate a 3D printed organ (heart, lung, kidney or liver) that can demonstrate the same biological function as a live human organ would.
The Problem
Advances in 3D printing technology over recent decades have enabled scientists to manufacture 3D bioprinted organs for various clinical purposes including drug screening, disease modeling, and other ex-vivo applications. A long-term goal of this research is to be able to print biologically active, complex organs that can be used in patients, with printed transplantable organs being the ultimate aim. The ability to print organs like a heart, lung or kidney in the lab could have huge implications for patients worldwide, overcoming the great shortage of donor organs as well as issues with transplant rejection when using donor organs.
However, there remain significant scientific and technical challenges to be overcome before printed, transplantable organs are ready for clinical use. While we already know how to print accurate replicas of body parts e.g. human heart valves, as well as simple organs like cartilage and skin, it is much more challenging to print complex organs like the heart that can perform the same biological function as real organs. In particular, the vascularisation of tissue so that it performs the necessary transportation of blood and nutrients, remains a key challenge.
Several key steps are required to successfully print a biologically active organ, each of which has room for further development and innovation in the technology to increase speed and efficiency. These include:
- Biobanking to collect patient stem cells
- Preparation of suitable bioink formulations from patient stem cells that optimize both printability and print fidelity
- 3D printing of the extracellular matrix from patient specific 3D models
- Cell culturing to ensure the appropriate self-assembly of patient cells within the structure
Why a challenge prize?
Accelerates progress towards an ambitious goal
While complex 3D bioprinted organs are still several years from the readiness needed for human transplants, a prize can stimulate significant advances towards this whilst addressing issues of scale, affordability and equity of access.
A lot of the foundational technology is already in place
We also have accurate 3D modeling tools to allow fabrication at the complexity and resolution needed for printed biological materials, as well as highly developed cell culture techniques. A prize can provide the incentive needed to bring these different areas of expertise together towards a clear, shared goal.
Brings in a range of teams and approaches to work on it
3D printing technology is advancing rapidly across a range of sectors for other applications – we can benefit from the tech advances made in other applications and transfer this knowledge. A prize could attract companies and researchers from other industries to tackle the problem.
Opportunity to address challenges in regulation and ethics
There is currently a lot of uncertainty about how to classify and regulate 3D printed organs (e.g. whether it is a product, organ or medical device), and whether we need new regulatory frameworks or can use existing ones. Challenge prizes like the Longitude Prize on AMR have demonstrated that we can bring regulatory bodies on board as collaborators in the creation of new regulatory standards and then ensure that outcomes meet those standards.
Eligibility and judging criteria
Eligibility criteria
- Teams: Innovators may apply as individuals or come together to form teams which may or may not have prior knowledge in the area, including researchers and companies working in the biomedical sciences, and 3D printing specialists from other industries.
- Organ: The organ must be one of the following transplantable organs to be eligible: lung, heart, kidney, liver, pancreas.
Judging criteria
Teams may use a range of innovative approaches to meet the challenge set, but the winning solution must meet the following criteria:
- Timescale: Solutions should aim to take no more than 8 weeks to fabricate the organ, starting from the point of collecting stem cells from a patient, and ending with an organ whose function is demonstrated ex-vivo.
- Innovation: Winning solutions should include innovative technologies and/or innovative use of existing technologies to deliver the final outcome.
- Function: The fabricated organ should be fully vascularised and biologically active, as demonstrated through a series of ex-vitro tests devised for the organ in question.
- Equity of access: Winning solutions should demonstrate a pathway to equity of access to the technology, e.g. via use of open source software and hardware where possible.
This prize idea is designed to be a conversation starter, so tell us what you think!
The best prize ideas are developed through extensive research and engagement with experts, stakeholders and people with lived experience of the problems they are focused on. We start with a first draft like the one above – then work to improve, refine and validate our thinking.
We’re particularly keen to have conversations about this idea with potential funders and organisations working in the field. Get in touch if you’re interested – or if you think you have a better idea – and we’ll schedule a call.
