Washington

IN the cardiac operating room of the future, a surgeon may repair your damaged heart with personalised parts made to fit your precise anatomy - bypassing donor lists and immune-suppressing drugs.

It sounds far-fetched, but in some ways this future is already here. Doctors use 3D-printed models of organs and tumours regularly to educate patients and plan surgeries. Some printed body parts have even made their way into human bodies as dental implants, prosthetics, skull and facial reconstructions, and more. Researchers are also working to print out cells, blood vessels and other living tissues, and experimental studies have created, among other parts, knee cartilage, bones and an artificial ear.