Scientometric Analysis of Publications on Three‐dimensional Bioprinting

Three‐dimensional (3D) printing has emerged as a disruptive technology for rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing. Bioprinting, the process of creating spatially controlled cell patterns with the use of 3D printers, has been developing personalized living tissues or artificial organs specific to each patient. Recent advances in bioprinting of tissues and organs has been driving new innovations in a variety of areas including tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, manufacturing, and biosciences such as biomedical research, transplantation and clinics, drug discovery and delivery. The aim of this study is to analyze the global scientific research output indexed in Web of Science database and estimate its R&D trend in the field of bioprinting through scientometric methods. Total 1,644 articles were retrieved and further analyzed. KnowledgeMatrix Plus, Gephi and VOSviewer software have been also used for analysis. Results showed that the R&D activivities on bioprinting have increased dramatically in recent years and major topics of this bioprinting field were identified. Recent advances in each nation's research activities and the international collaboration network in bioprinting have also been discussed.Support or Funding InformationThis research was supported by Korea Institute of Science and Technology Information under the program “Development of Technology Intelligence System for Exploring Future Technologies” from the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning in Korea.