Cory Blake

4/19/14
ENGL 1103

3D printing: Creating Superhumans
For decades, the thought of people infused with technology or artificially creating organs
was a thing of the future. Although once dreamt impossible, the studies of a few pioneering
researchers could very seriously put this type of technology right in the palm of our hands.
Universities and professionals from all over the world are working on taking advantage of the
endless uses of the 3D printer, and many of them are making headway in proving the positive
effects of this instrument. While many raise their ears to hear the praise being casted out, others
arent so quick to jump on the 3D printing bandwagon. Issues such as gaps in age between
economic classes, illegal distribution of firearms as well as organs, and crashes in the economy
are only a few problems that are normally aired in the debate. Either way you look at it, 3D
printing could quite possibly be the reason why the world launches into a new technological
revolution.
Many of the best minds in the world have teamed up to prove that the 3D printer is worth
all the hype. Although many researchers are respected in their studies with this device, Tony
Atala, Head researcher of the Wake Forest Institute of Regenerative Medicine, is considered the
Christopher Columbus of the 3D printing world. For years, Atala and his group of researchers
have been using the 3d printer to make some organs, as well as artificial bone and veins. Using a
special filament infused with DNA, Atala and his team lay down organs layer by layer, taking a
matter of hours to complete the task. Even making as much headway as they are, Atala and his
team dont project the creation of the first functioning hard organs for another five years or so.
Many believe that Atalas research could open a number of doors, even doing away with the
organ donation system. Using this technology, people waiting to receive organs would have to
wait a fraction of the time to receive their needed organs, while also avoiding the chance that the
organ they receive is rejected or carries a disease that was missed. While many believe the good
this process could do, there is always a group of sceptics to bring up the other side of the story.
Although this technology could change the world as we know it, many worry that only
the wealthy 1% will only benefit from this. 3D printers that are used to make such items start out
at around $30,000 and work their way up according to technicality and complexity of the
downloadable actions. Also taking into consideration the cost of the DNA infused filament,
some fear that there will be way too much room to tax the usage of 3D printing once the
government gains regulation rights. Some also worry that the wealthy will be able to pay for this
and it will only send the lower class, who need the help just as much as the wealthy, into a huge
pit of bankruptcy. In the long run, opposing parties are concerned that the upper class will gain
the ability to prolong their lives drastically, while the lower classes will continue to have the
normal life expectancy. While doing my research, I stumbled across an interview CNN was
conducting with random citizens about the implementations of 3D printing. After arming them
with both sides of the story, the people who were being surveyed were told to choose the side
they thought was the best. Statistics of that survey showed that about 55% of people were
opposed to the use of 3D printers. Those who believe in this implementation use a sort of
survival of the fittest mentality, saying that if some people dont have the means to pay, then it
is their fault. The technology that humans use as well as what we use it for is entirely based on
our moral codes. While technology changes, some feel that our morals change as a direct
correlation. Even as early back as the first discovery of fire, the culture of the tribes that used
these tools was changed, causing them to survive and others to die off.
While Atala and his team are believed to be at the forefront of this technology, other
researchers are working just as hard in their shadow. University of Toronto professor Matt Ratto
and his team are using his Critical Making Lab along with 3D scanning to help make artificial
limbs for children in Uganda. As everyone is aware, Uganda is a country that has been
struggling for a number of years now. Often, the medical support needed by the people of
Uganda is not always at their disposal, making it almost impossible to survive even the smallest
of diseases. Using his device, Ratto is able to help with certain aspects of replacing someones
limbs with artificial replicas. While prosthetic limbs are easily made in bulk, the biggest
problem that researchers run into is the specificity of the joint. Everyones joints are different,
meaning that the same cast for all limbs that anyone receives is rendered not optimal. This is
where Ratto and his team come in. Using 3D scanning, they can scan the patients joint, and
make an exact replica of it. Now, using their 3d printer, Ratto is able to make whatever shape is
needed, because 3D printers are able to make any curve, turn, or crevice. No matter how
intricate, 3D printers can follow any path given, making 3D printing a more obvious choice over
the standard manufacturing used in the past.
In opposition, Rattos work in Uganda has raised more than a few looming questions over
the fine printed parts of this technique. One question that has been raised is who will maintain
possession of the patients scans once the process is finished? Some extremists feel that the
government will use this information to keep a biological record of the people of Uganda, while
others only worry that their information will be free floating. Another problem that has arisen is
the question of how much of an issue will be caused if the skills part of the job is done
somewhere other than Uganda. If it is done somewhere else, this could mean the start of more
tariffs since they will be imported goods. This will completely go against Rattos intentions, and
bring the problem of politics into the equation.
While some researchers focus on making standard replacements of the body, others are
working on growing these parts and making them far superior than what we are use to. For
example, researchers at Princeton University have grown an ear while also infusing it with
technology in the process. In the end, the ear was fully functional, even being able to hear radio
waves far greater than any human being. Likewise, researchers from Harvard have been growing
parts of the body infused with technology for years. From augmented bones to augmented
organs, the only thing researchers are missing is a terminator type cyborg to carry it all around.
For obvious reasons, people worry more about this aspect of the implementations than any other.
Will laws be put in place to keep people from augmenting weapons onto themselves? This
problem is very real because now everyday people are able to buy a 3D printer for around $1,000
and just place it in their desks, not to mention its about $12.50 for one cubic foot of the hard
polymer used to make items. Although people are only able to make something as big as a
shoebox with personal 3D printers, professional printers are readily available and are able to
make anything. This could lead to the black market production of augmented organs, causing a
number of new problems for our government, as well as others, to deal with. Another problem
that has arisen is if there will be a cap placed on how many artificial body parts a person can
receive. Will the cap be based on a persons natural capacity (number of organs already in the
body)? If there is a cap, how will it be enforced? These are all questions we will have to answer
when it comes time for this technology to go public.
But the research being done with 3D printing doesnt stop there. While some choose to
work with the huge, lugging 3D printer that is made readily available, researchers at the
University of Wollongong have been working in a hand held 3D printer called the FFF pen.
Headed by Gordon Wallace, the FFF pen was designed in the Australian Research Council
Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science at UOW and is actually just a continuation of
one of his previous works. With the standard 3D printer, doctors take hours to make the
necessary body part, and making small things such as fingers and toes isnt very efficient.
Instead, researchers use the FFF pen when they need to replace a body part and cant wait longer
periods of time. The way Gordons pen works is that it extracts a biological polymer infused
with stem cells from the end, allowing the polymer to mold into anything needed, whether it be
bone or tissue. After it is applied, the polymer is then hardened with a UV light, allowing a
successive layer to be built on top. Gordon also believes that the polymer of the pen could be
infused with medicines or antibiotics, allowing surgeons and doctors to treat injuries faster.
Gordon and his team hope to drastically cut surgery times, as well as recovery times using the
FFF pen. However, the controversy of the FFF pen revolves around the use of stem cells in the
polymer. For years scientists and researchers have been trying to use stem cells to grow parts of
the body. On the other hand, some feel it is immoral and unethical to use stem cells because
stem cells are taken from human fetuses. Although quite often a subject of debate, researchers
are still pushing for the acceptance of the use of stem cells in their research. Even though its
acceptance is still farfetched, researchers such as Gordon are still using stem cells as the basis of
their research for 3D printing, and will not allow opposing opinions to impede them.
As you can see, 3D printing is the source of a lot of positive as well as negative opinions
on where technology is moving us. The uses of 3D printing will not only be prominent in the
medical world, but in everything we make or do. Whether or not you agree with its use, almost
everyone can agree that 3D printing could single handedly shoot us into another technological
revolution, one where everything we need is literally at our fingertips. Although it may take
some time to get used to the endless possibilities that come with 3D printing, I think people as a
whole will come around to the idea of a completely creatable world.





Bibliography
http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/01/21/continued-evolution-role-3d-bioprinting/

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/01/21/making-mass-produced-3d-printed-prosthetics-
reality-uganda/

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/01/20/loving-arms-wrex-hannahs-3d-printed-
exoskeleton/

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/01/20/stratasys-furthers-3d-printing-role-field-
dentistry/

http://3dprintingindustry.com/2013/12/19/3d-biopen-rewrites-orthopedic-surgery/
Cory at this point in the process, I want to see you attend to the few questions I asked and
to correct your Works Cited page. Take the time to get those citations correct because
youll need to know how to format citations in future classes even if its not MLA. Do those
things and well consider your revision done.