Three-Dimensional Bioprinting in Cardiovascular Disease: Current Status and Future Directions

Three-dimensional (3D) printing plays an important role in cardiovascular disease through the use of personalised models that replicate the normal anatomy and its pathology with high accuracy and reliability. While 3D printed heart and vascular models have been shown to improve medical education, preoperative planning and simulation of cardiac procedures, as well as to enhance communication with patients, 3D bioprinting represents a potential advancement of 3D printing technology by allowing the printing of cellular or biological components, functional tissues and organs that can be used in a variety of applications in cardiovascular disease. Recent advances in bioprinting technology have shown the ability to support vascularisation of large-scale constructs with enhanced biocompatibility and structural stability, thus creating opportunities to replace damaged tissues or organs. In this review, we provide an overview of the use of 3D bioprinting in cardiovascular disease with a focus on technologies and applications in cardiac tissues, vascular constructs and grafts, heart valves and myocardium. Limitations and future research directions are highlighted.

Automated summary

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is important in cardiovascular disease for its ability to create personalized models that accurately replicate the anatomy and pathology. 3D bioprinting further advances this technology by printing cellular or biological components, functional tissues and organs for use in cardiovascular applications. This review provides an overview of the use of 3D bioprinting in cardiovascular disease, focusing on cardiac tissues, vascular constructs, grafts, heart valves, and myocardium, and highlights limitations and future research directions.