A team of Korean researchers has developed a 3D-printed stem cell patch that could change

the way doctors perform heart surgeries.

Kim Hyesung sheds light on the breakthrough.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide.

The World Health Organization says over 8 million people died from coronary artery disease in 2015 alone.

Fewer than half of patients who suffer a heart attack after receiving a heart surgery end

up living longer than five years,... due to the difficulty of regenerating damaged heart tissue.

But a new finding could provide a solution.

Korean researchers have developed a 3D printed stem cell patch that can enhance cardiac repair

by generating new blood vessels and tissues when attached to the heart.

Scientists at the Pohang University of Science and Technology, or POSTECH, harvested myocardial

and vascular stem cells, which they then combined with what they call biological ink, a gel

made from a decellularized pig's heart.

"It's crucial to extract the extracellular matrix, leaving elements like protein but

removing other pig cells to prevent it from causing disruption in the transplanted species' immune system."

The bioink mixture facilliates the fabrication of 3D-shaped structures by placing the incubated

stem cells in dual-cell arrangements.

After publishing the bioink concept in the journal Nature in 2014, the POSTECH research

team, with the help of Seoul Saint Mary's Hospital, successfully tested the technique

on a mouse with myocardial disease.

The 3-D printed patch integrated well with the mouse's existing tissue.

It reduced the hardness of certain fibrotic areas affected by a lack of blood supply and

created new blood vessels, helping its heart pump again.

"I've conducted bioengeneering research for over two decades and this is a very encouraging result.

Only one in ten patients can receive an organ implant, but 3D printing using our bioink

shows that printed organs can be transplanted to an animal,... opening the possibility of

transplanting the tissue in humans."

Having proved that the 3D printed stem cell patch works, the team's next goal is to see

if there are any side effects... to test whether it's safe to use in the long term.

Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.