Making Arteries with an Off-The-Shelf 3D Printer

This is exciting.

My son has a congenital heart defect, and will have Fontan surgery in a few months, an operation in which a short PTFE tube will be inserted between his vena cava and the pulmonary arteries. While PTFE is generally well tolerated, he will need to take blood thinners for his entire life to reduce the risk of embolisms.

The prospect of one day being able to print an artificial vein, from materials that do not increase the risk of embolisoms, with an optimal fluid dynamic profile, possible even one that could grow with the patient... That's a very exciting thought.