Table 4.

Potential future benefits and challenges of combining regenerative medicine with additive manufacturing

	Feature	Benefits	Challenges
Bioprinting	Control over macrostructure and microstructure of tissue produced	Replicate anatomical form Reduce surgical technique learning curve	Biomechanical properties of bioinks Effect of printing on cells Printing resolution
	Patient-specific macrostructure from image acquisition (CT/MRI)	Reduce variability in surgical outcomes	Macrostructure may alter during bioreactor maturation
	Manufacture ex vivo	Avoid donor site morbidity Reduce operating time	Potential for contamination Regulatory constraints
Regenerative medicine	Tissue-specific stem cells to improve quality and functionality of engineered tissue	True ‘like for like’ replacement Restoring native anisotropy allows improved matching of mechanical properties	Genetic stability and differentiation capacity of cells after prolonged expansion in culture
	Tissue maturation utilizing growth factors	Reduce degradation and constriction	Optimal growth factor combinations and temporal effects

CT computed tomography, MRI magnetic resonance imaging