A new gadget 3D prints living cells in the body. Australian researchers are unveiling a prototype endoscopic surgical device for internal organs. 3D bioprinting creates tissue-like biological components.
Tissue engineering and drug development are bioprinting’s principal uses. Big 3D printers are needed to construct cellular structures outside the body.
Before successfully 3D printing on organ surfaces, the study team tested the device in an artificial colon where it could travel through small openings.
According to Study Finds, Dr. Thanh Nho Do of the UNSW Medical Robotics Lab and his PhD student, Mai Thanh Thai, led this endeavour alongside other UNSW academics.
The bot’s tiny, flexible 3D bioprinter can directly apply multilayered biomaterials to inside organs and tissues like an endoscope.
The F3DB proof-of-concept device comprises a highly adjustable swivel head that “prints” bio-ink and a long, flexible robotic arm that resembles a snake. Scientists can remotely control it.
The study team believes the technology could allow doctors to access difficult body locations through tiny skin incisions or natural orifices within five to seven years.
Dr. Do and his team tested their gadget within an artificial colon by 3D printing a range of materials on a pig’s kidney.
How 3D bioprinters work
Flexible 3D bioprinter delivers biomaterials straight into target tissue or organs with little invasiveness. “Our method can recreate three-dimensional wounds inside the body, such as stomach wall injuries or colon damage and sickness,” Dr. Do said.
“Thanks to its flexible body, our prototype can 3D print multiple biomaterials of varying sizes and shape through limited and hard-to-reach areas.”
In Advanced Science, Dr. Hoang-Phuong Phan, Associate Professor Jelena Rnjak-Kovacina, and Scientia Professor Nigel Lovell published their research. The invention has a provisional patent and will be tested on live animals to demonstrate its potential.
The researchers also seek an integrated camera and a real-time scanning system to recreate a 3D tomography of the body’s moving tissue.
To read our blog on “China creates a lithium metal battery with a high energy density via 3D printing,” click here.
