Dean Kamen:
Dean Kamen is a renowned inventor and entrepreneur from Manchester, New Hampshire. He dropped out of Worcester Polytechnic Institute to pursue his passion for inventing. Kamen is known for his work on infusion pumps, auto syringes, and the Segway. He holds approximately 490 patents. Kamen’s focus is on improving lives and making the world a better place. He is currently working on projects related to home dialysis and monitoring tools.

Martine Rothblatt:
Martine Rothblatt is an American lawyer, entrepreneur, and founder of United Therapeutics. She graduated from UCLA with a combined law and MBA degree in 1981. Rothblatt worked in Washington, D.C., specializing in communications, satellite law, and life science projects like the Human Genome Project. She also founded Geostar and Sirius Radio.

FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology):
FIRST is a not-for-profit organization founded by Dean Kamen to inspire kids to pursue science and technology. FIRST started with 23 teams in New Hampshire 25 years ago and has grown to 46,000 schools in 86 countries. FIRST has 3,700 corporate sponsors, 140,000 volunteer mentors, and has handed out $34 million in scholarships.

FIRST Robotics Competition:
FIRST Robotics Competition is a high school robotics competition where students design, build, and program robots to compete in a game. The competition is designed to be challenging and engaging, and it helps students develop skills in engineering, teamwork, and problem-solving. Students who participate in FIRST Robotics Competition are more likely to go to college and major in science or engineering.

FIRST’s Impact:
FIRST has a positive impact on students’ lives. It helps them develop confidence, self-respect, and teamwork skills. FIRST also inspires students to pursue careers in science and engineering. FIRST believes that scientists and engineers should be role models for kids, just like athletes and entertainers.

FIRST’s Global Network:
FIRST has a global network of teams, mentors, and supporters. This network helps students connect with each other and learn from each other. FIRST’s global network is helping to create a new generation of scientists and engineers who are prepared to solve the world’s problems.

Initial Remarks:
Dean Kamen, an engineering visionary, emphasizes the transformative power of technology in revolutionizing various industries and promoting global understanding.

Sledgehammer for Cultural Barriers:
Kamen views technology as a tool to break down cultural barriers, uniting people through a universal language. He envisions technology as a compass guiding humanity towards peace and global harmony.

Technology as a Crucible for Innovation:
Kamen compares technology to Glastonbury, Mission Control, and the Rosetta Stone, highlighting its potential to foster innovation and help solve global challenges. He emphasizes the role of technology in propelling humanity towards a brighter future, curing diseases, developing clean energy solutions, and achieving ambitious goals like setting foot on Mars.

The Machine’s True Purpose:
Kamen clarifies that technology is not merely a robot but a tool to empower individuals and transform the world.

First Global Robotics Tournament:
Kamen announces the upcoming inaugural global robotics tournament, involving 86 countries and supported by prestigious organizations like the National Academy of Engineers and the Royal Society.

Collaboration for Medical Advancements:
Kamen highlights the fruitful partnership between himself and Martine Rothblatt, a renowned scientist and entrepreneur. He emphasizes their shared passion for improving healthcare and their joint efforts in developing groundbreaking medical technologies.

Kamen’s Decades-Long Pursuit of Medical Solutions:
Kamen shares his extensive experience in the medical field, spanning decades and encompassing diverse projects. He emphasizes the common goal of all his endeavors: getting people out of hospitals and empowering them to manage their health at home.

Early Innovations in Drug Delivery:
Kamen describes the early development of battery-operated drug delivery systems, enabling patients to self-administer medication outside of a hospital setting. He mentions the challenges and skepticism surrounding this innovation and its eventual success in improving patient outcomes.

Home Dialysis Revolution:
Kamen discusses the development of simplified and user-friendly home dialysis machines, aiming to provide greater convenience and autonomy for patients. He emphasizes the importance of user-friendly interfaces and connectivity to enhance patient care and safety.

Connectivity and Remote Monitoring:
Kamen stresses the significance of connectivity and remote monitoring in transforming healthcare delivery. He highlights the role of Jim Weinstein, a pioneer in telehealth, in advancing these technologies and their impact on improving patient outcomes.

Clinical Trials and Regulatory Hurdles:
Kamen shares the challenges faced in obtaining FDA approval for a new hemodialysis machine, emphasizing the need for more efficient and expedited regulatory pathways. He expresses hope for collaboration with Dartmouth-Hitchcock and Jim Weinstein to accelerate the approval process.

Martine Rothblatt’s Expertise:
Kamen introduces Martine Rothblatt, founder of Sirius Radio and a visionary in the field of regenerative medicine. He highlights her commitment to addressing orphan situations and her passion for leveraging technology to advance medical treatments.

Decellularizing and Recellularizing Tissue:
Kamen describes Rothblatt’s groundbreaking work in decellularizing and recellularizing tissue, using innovative bioreactors to scale up production for regenerative medicine.

Collaboration with the Department of Defense:
Kamen mentions a partnership with the Department of Defense to develop regenerative medicine technologies, aiming to bring these advancements out of research labs and into clinical applications.

Rothblatt’s Perspective on Kamen’s Work:
Rothblatt expresses her admiration for Kamen’s ingenuity and his exceptional ability to manipulate fluids at a human scale. She emphasizes the importance of technology in enhancing biological processes and her gratitude for their collaboration in advancing healthcare innovations.

Closing the Gap in Organ Transplantation:
Rothblatt shares their ongoing project to address the disparity between the number of patients waiting for organ transplants and the availability of donor organs.

The Critical Organ Shortage:
The gap between people dying of end-stage organ disease and the number of patients receiving transplants is vast, despite half of Americans agreeing to be organ donors.

Ex Vivo Perfusion Technology:
Organs donated for transplant often go unused due to ischemia. Ex vivo perfusion technology revitalizes ischemic organs, allowing for successful transplantation. Hundreds of patients have received transplanted lungs, hearts, and kidneys using this method, with survival rates comparable to organs transplanted directly from donors.

Decellularization and Recellularization of Organs:
Pig lungs are decellularized to remove antigenic matter using a detergent bath. The decellularized lungs are then recellularized with adult human cells, creating a xenograft organ that can be transplanted. This method eliminates the need for real-time organ donation and allows for continuous manufacturing.

Genetic Modification of Pigs:
Martine Rothblatt’s team is collaborating with Synthetic Genomics to genetically modify pigs to reduce the risk of rejection in xenotransplantation. This approach involves introducing human-compatible genes into the pig genome and removing genes that cause rejection.

Potential Impact:
The manufacturing of organs through ex vivo perfusion, decellularization/recellularization, and genetic modification has the potential to address the organ shortage crisis and save thousands of lives. These methods could also reduce the need for immunosuppressive drugs, improving the quality of life for transplant recipients.

Bioreactors for Organs:
Modified pig organs can be grown inside pigs to be human-friendly and surpass organ rejection in recipients. Manufacturing processes can occur in large numbers, achieving record-breaking organ lifespans in primate models.

3D Scaffolds:
Bioabsorbable material is used to print 3D scaffolds for organs, including lungs, kidneys, livers, and hearts. Cellularization of scaffolds with recipient’s stem cells creates autologous organs, eliminating the need for immunological tolerance or chimerism. Customized organs can be printed and grown within a few months for patients with end-stage organ disease.

Collaboration:
Martine Rothblatt and Dean Kamen’s partnership combines their networks to bring together experts from different fields. Collaboration with 3D Systems allowed for the development of a slow 3D printing technique to create collagen-based scaffolds.

Benefits:
3D printing scaffolds can increase the number of lung transplants by 50% compared to current methods. Autologous transplants eliminate the need for immunosuppressive drugs and reduce the risk of rejection. 3D printed scaffolds provide a framework for cellularization with recipient’s own cells, creating a perfect match.

Proof of Concept:
A physicist and world expert in lubrication developed a method for 3D printing organs in a gel substrate called carbopol. The carbopol substrate is initially liquid but solidifies after printing, preserving the structural integrity of the printed organ. A specific type of molecular bond embedded in the carbopol melts away under an appropriate light frequency, allowing the complete organ to be removed from the substrate.

Overcoming Challenges:
Martine Rothblatt and Dean Kamen see challenges as opportunities to learn and improve. They believe that persistence over a long period can lead to significant accomplishments.

United Therapeutics and Imagine Care Network:
United Therapeutics, with 1,000 employees, has joined the Imagine Care network of Dartmouth-Hitchcock. This partnership aims to proactively monitor health, reduce mortality, and improve survival through non-invasive algorithmic interventions.

Brain Transplant and Tissue Replacement:
Rothblatt believes that scaffolding could be built to culture neurons that could replace missing or damaged tissue in the brain. Such technology has the potential to address a significant unmet medical need.

Research and Development:
Dr. Martine Rothblatt believes a dedicated team of scientists could make significant progress in organ transplantation within a few years, potentially achieving commercial success in a decade or two. Dean Kamen emphasizes the importance of prioritizing research efforts, considering factors such as feasibility, patient impact, and potential as stepping stones for further advancements. Kamen highlights the promising potential of neuron transplantation, skin regeneration, bone regeneration, and neuron-related interventions as near-term achievable goals.

Challenges:
Organ transplantation faces challenges in terms of complexity, size, and the need for diverse cell types and scales. Creating a complete lung, kidney, or liver requires intricate engineering and manufacturing processes. The brain transplant remains a distant possibility due to its complexity and the limited use of the existing brain by most people.

Clinical Trials and Future Prospects:
Dr. James N. Weinstein emphasizes the need for clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of regenerative medicine approaches in actual clinical settings. The field of organ transplantation is rapidly advancing, with consensus among experts that significant progress can be made within years rather than decades. Healthcare is becoming increasingly complex, requiring a comprehensive understanding of current and future trends to effectively address patient needs and drive innovation.

Healthcare Affordability and Accessibility:
Americans face challenges in accessing affordable and state-of-the-art healthcare, especially outside major university medical centers. Connectivity and real-time information transfer have the potential to improve healthcare delivery and reduce costs.

Connectivity and Sensor Technology:
Connectivity and sensor technology are intersecting with medical advances, enabling remote diagnosis and monitoring. This convergence can enhance healthcare accessibility and efficiency but requires proper infrastructure and trained professionals.

Home Hemodialysis and Chronic Conditions:
Home hemodialysis can improve the quality of life and reduce costs for end-stage renal failure patients. Chronic conditions like end-stage renal failure pose significant financial burdens on healthcare systems.

FDA Regulations and Innovation:
FDA regulations can impact the development and implementation of innovative medical technologies. Balancing patient safety with innovation is crucial for advancing healthcare solutions.

Collaboration and Partnerships:
Successful healthcare solutions require collaboration among various stakeholders, including medical device companies, healthcare providers, and regulatory bodies. Partnerships are essential for bringing together expertise and resources to drive innovation and improve patient outcomes.

Decentralized Healthcare:
Hospitals will transition from acute care facilities to destinations for complex conditions. Home healthcare is preferred for most ailments due to lower risk, cost, and iatrogenic complications. Advanced technologies and connectivity enable remote monitoring and control of patient care.

Integrating Imagine Care:
Imagine Care platform provides remote healthcare services and monitoring. Integration with advanced technologies enhances efficiency and leverage of Imagine Care. Sophisticated monitoring and control systems enable real-time care for complex conditions.

Millennials’ Impact:
Millennials reject traditional healthcare models and demand efficient, distributed medical care. Growing support for third-party candidates reflects dissatisfaction with current healthcare options. Millennials embrace technologies for serious healthcare needs, including dialysis and cardiac monitoring.

Collaboration with Imagine Care:
Plans to develop platforms and demonstrate rapid progress to relevant authorities. Potential for significant cost savings, particularly in areas such as dialysis.

Artificial Kidney Transplant:
Timing for the first 3D-printed artificial kidney transplant is uncertain, but expected to occur sooner than decades. Current research and developments hold promise for future advancements.

The Impossibility of Decoding the Human Genome:
Decoding the human genome was deemed impossible by the scientific community due to its complexity and the limitations of computing power.

Overcoming Conventional Wisdom:
Despite skepticism, the human genome was successfully decoded ahead of schedule. Similarly, the dogma of cell differentiation, which held that cells could only differentiate one way, was challenged.

The Emergence of iPS Cell Technologies:
Within the last 15-10 years, iPS cell technologies have shown that cells can be re-differentiated and re-differentiated into various cell types.

Accessibility of These Technologies:
Gene sequencing and cell differentiation are no longer limited to specialized institutions. Universities and research centers can conduct these processes with commercially available equipment.

The Convergence of Revolutions:
The advancements in gene sequencing, cell differentiation, and 3D printing technologies present new possibilities. 3D printing can be used to create scaffolds and cellularize them with commodity cells or an individual’s own cells using iPS techniques.

Conclusion:
The combination of these technologies makes the idea of bioprinting replacement organs feasible. This approach is less challenging than previously thought and holds promise for personalized medicine.

3D Printing and Renal Xenotransplantation:
3D printing is a promising technology for creating scaffolds for organ transplantation. Experts predict that by 2019, genetically modified xenografts could be used to treat end-stage renal disease patients. Within five years, a completely animal-free solution using 3D printed scaffolds and adult or IPS-derived cells could be available.

Regulatory Challenges:
The regulatory process for innovative medical technologies is often slow and cumbersome. Dean Kamen proposes a new approach where regulatory bodies provide upfront guidance and approvals rather than waiting for the technology to be developed before evaluating it.

Scaling Up and Clinical Implementation:
To bring innovative technologies to scale, it is crucial to involve clinical institutions and practitioners who can provide the necessary infrastructure and expertise. Collaboration between researchers, clinicians, regulators, and reimbursement bodies is essential to ensure that new technologies are safe, effective, and accessible to patients.

Patient Testimonials:
Patients who have received restored lungs through 3D printing technology have expressed immense gratitude for the improved quality of life and the opportunity to see their grandchildren grow up.

Conclusion:
The combination of 3D printing, xenotransplantation, and regulatory innovation holds the potential to revolutionize medicine and bring life-saving treatments to patients in need. By addressing regulatory challenges, scaling up production, and collaborating across disciplines, researchers and clinicians can work together to make these advancements a reality.