Finalist 2019: BIO X
With the cost-effective BIO X, researchers are be able to 3D print human organs. This is the bioprinter of the future from CELLINK, praised by researchers all over the world.
After receiving feedback on its first bioprinter from some of the world’s top researchers, CELLINK went back to the drawing board. Then they built a finalist in the Grand Award of Design – the BIO X bioprinter of the future.
A design for the future
– For me, design is everything, says Erik Gatenholm. I didn’t just want a product only for researchers. This must be a product for the future and then the product must also look like it and offer something out of the ordinary, says Erik Gatenholm,
Simplicity was a watchword in the development of BIO X. The design team understood that a large target audience is, for example, biologists, and they generally hate coding and tinkering. Our goal was to take something very complex and make it user-friendly, and attractive.
– It should be easy to use, preferably just one or two buttons, explains Erik Gatenholm.
Worldwide collaboration
When CELLINK developed its first bioprinter, it was the world’s most cost-effective bioprinter. From costing $200,000, they brought the price down to $4,999. This was CELLINK’s first product and the hope was that researchers would use it to start developing new medical solutions.
– With this price, researchers received a high discount with the condition that they were willing to share feedback and data on what they are working on. So it was a collaboration I actually sold, says Erik Gatenholm.
“Scientists became lyrical when BIO-X was launched. And not only as a buyer of a product, but also that they were listened to and had their feedback become part of the development.”
Erik Gatenholm, CEO CELLINK
Optimized for researchers
Something CELLINK took with it after its first cinema printer was that it was not flexible enough. With BIO X, you can adjust things such as replacing print heads to be able to print several different materials or add components. In this way, it has greater capacity and has been built with the same thinking as around open source code.
Today, BIO X is present in 50 countries and is based on feedback from nearly 200 researchers from Singapore to MIT.
– I am extremely grateful that we have achieved these successes and are now nominated in the Great Award of Design. Everything has gone terribly fast. Scientists became lyrical when BIO X was launched. And not just as a buyer of a product, but also that they were listened to and had their feedback become part of the development, says Erik Gatenholm.
Finalist Grand Award of Design 2019: BIO X
Producing company: CELLINK.
Design: CELLINK and Semcon.
Motivation: CELLINK has not only succeeded in building a revolutionary bioprinter, but has also made it available to researchers through an extensive cost-effective collaboration. Through a smart futuristic design that has a low threshold in use, they have laid the groundwork for solving complex problems.
