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Makes AI-Led Artificial Organs Possible
Throughout her research career, Pitt researcher Ipsita Banerjee has investigated the potential to 鈥済row鈥 human organ replacements 鈥 or organoids 鈥 with a patient鈥檚 own cells so that the immune system doesn鈥檛 reject it. But while individual cells possess a natural ability to replicate and grow, coaxing them to form an organoid has been a challenge.
However, artificial intelligence, or AI, now gives researchers like Banerjee, Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering in Pitt鈥檚 Swanson School of Engineering, and her colleagues the ability to reduce trial-and-error as well as costs, bringing the future of organoid transplants closer to reality.
Banerjee is a pioneer in organoid research, and new tools such as AI and 鈥渂ioprinting鈥 are transforming its potential. Rather than traditional chemical experiments, her approach uses bioprinting to create an organoid鈥檚 specific characteristics and AI to predict and control their behavior. Her hope is that this process 鈥 the first of its kind 鈥 will enable scaling up the production of these organoids to save human lives.