Indian Institute of Technology Madras and MIT scientists have developed tissues of human brain in a 3D-printed bioreactor.
Sradha Subash A
Scientists from Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have grown human brain tissues named ‘organoids’, using a 3D Printed Bioreactor that they developed.
The main purpose was to observe the growth of brain tissues and thereby developing a technology that can potentially improve medical and therapeutic discoveries for diseases like cancer and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
A 3D printed micro-incubator and imaging chamber, both were transformed into a single palm-sized platform, which was successfully established for long-term human brain cell culture as well as real-time imaging.
The technology is patented in India. The research team is now looking at the practicality of international collaborations. The Center for Computational Brain Research (CCBR) at IIT Madras provided funding, and Sur's Lab at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States mentored the researchers.
Ikram Khan S.I., IIT Madras Alum (MS Opto-Electronics, 2015-19) and CEO of ISMO Bio-Photonics, an IIT Madras-incubated start-up, said that the application of their micro-incubator in the field of healthcare and in the pharmaceutical industry is significant. They're collaborating with ISMO Bio-Photonics to create a user-friendly minimum viable product and raise seed money for further development. Also, this will enable biologists or laboratory technicians to operate, control and observe the growth of organoids with a user-friendly system powered by Artificial Intelligence-assisted automated cell culture protocols.