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Biofabrication offers future hope for tackling various obstacles and challenges in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine: A Perspective
could advance the reliability of bio-AM, and only bio- be to manufacture biological products, and bio-CAE
AM can potentially deal with the increasing demand for process can be used to create complex bioarchitectures,
replacing/regenerating tissues/organs. In the end, such and validate and optimize biomanufacturing tools and
developments could be promising in on-demand tissue bioproducts. Effective implementation of bio-CAD, bio-
engineering or bioindustrial applications using bio-AM CAM, and bio-CAE processes (biofabrication) depends
technologies. on the combination of several interrelated components/
parameters, such as biomaterials, biomolecules, cells,
3.2. Challenge of the Digitalization of TERM and tissues, integrated with computational approaches
The rate at which biofabrication research is being carried our (e.g., digital designing, information mapping,
worldwide reflects remarkable technological achievements. sophisticated virtual product modeling, 3D simulation,
Printers (including 3D printers) are considered as and data mining).
excellent output devices [21,23,61,77,80-82] . Recent trends in Digitization of bio-CAD, bio-CAM, and bio-
implementation of bioprinters in biofabrication technology CAE processes are the key issues of the day for
within the field of TERM have shown that the number of biofabrication scientists and researchers. Indeed, the
research papers has significantly grown, while bioprinting current biofabrication initiatives are possible, but computer
and biofabrication have become more popular research programmers and technologists will undoubtedly have
areas [23,81] . to invent highly inclusive digital technologies that
Broadly speaking, biofabrication is complex technology involve integrating imaging, database, and computer
comprised several techniques including computer-aided numerically controlled bioprinting machines and artificial
design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE), and intelligence [83-91] . If all these parameters will function in a
biological processes and subprocesses. CAD, CAM, coordinated way, then we can achieve the final objective
and CAE terminologies for biofabrication have been of digital fabrication in TERM or automated production
proposed to parallel similar strategies in other engineering of biologically functional human tissues and organs for
fields. However, there are several big and important transplantation and commercialization purposes [92-105] .
distinctions between the disciplines. To avoid confusion,
we propose that for biofabrication (bioengineering of 4. Challenge to Rapid Production of Organs
complex tissues/organs), these terms should be used as beyond the Biological Natural Course
bio-CAD, bio-CAM, and bio-CAE (Figure 1).
Bio-CAD, bio-CAM, and bio-CAE approaches are The human body with its interconnected organ systems
generally regarded as promising future technology for is the most advanced and complex living structure in
the biomanufacturing of complex and heterogeneous the known universe. In the natural process inside our
bioconstructs. Bio-CAD process can be used to design bodies, organ developmental phenomena are strictly
tissue and organ blueprints, bio-CAM process can controlled by natural laws of embryology and anatomy.

Figure 1. The sketch shows a schematic drawing of the potential strategy for digitalization of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

4 International Journal of Bioprinting (2019)–Volume 5, Issue 1