STRATEGMED III programme under the framework of „Prevention practices and treatment of civilization diseases” NCBiR grant.

Project title: 3D bioprinting of living pancreatic islets or insulin-producing cells into scafollds of bionic pancreas

The aim of the project is to 3D-bioprint a functional bionic pancreas consisted of proper extracellular matrix for vasculature and islets or even further–insulin producing cells retrieved from the recipient. In Poland, there are more than 2.5 million diabetic patients, 200,000 of which are patients with type 1 diabetes. Nowadays islet transplantation is of a limited use as a treatment of diabetes because more than 50% of transplanted islets are lost during the first few days after the implantation: beta cells of the implants stop producing insulin mainly due to ischemic injury and loss of extracellular matrix. Bioprinting is an extremely promising new technology that can be used for production of 3D scaffold for tissue transplants. It has been proven successful for trachea and bladder transplants. In the current project, our ultimate goal is to generate Human Bionic Pancreas – a 3D fully functional scaffold for islet transplants that could become a full-fledged method for treatment of diabetes.

The project will be carried out in collaboration with prof. Michał Wszoła from the Transplant Surgery Clinic, Medical University of Warsaw, and prof. Wojciech Święszkowski from the Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology.

STRATEGMED is the strategic R&D programme developed by the NCBiR Council on the basis of the National Research Programme.

For more information about the programme see:
http://www.ncbir.pl/en/news/art,4231,ncbr-allocates-pln-800-million-for-new-medical-technologies.html