Bioprinting goes to a new level – flexible 3D printer repairs damaged tissue inside the human body
Researchers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney have developed a flexible 3D bioprinter that can apply organic material to human body tissue from the inside. Unlike other approaches to bioprinting, this system is minimally invasive and will help avoid major surgeries or organ removal in the future.
The F3DB printer is designed as a robotic arm connected by a catheter to a flexible print head. The mechanism has a diameter similar to that of an endoscope (approximately 11-13 millimeters), which is small enough to be inserted through the mouth or anus. In addition, the device can spray jets of water on the targeted area, and the nozzle of the print head can act as an electric scalpel. The team hopes that this multifunctional approach will become a universal tool (incision, cleaning, and printing) for minimally invasive surgeries in the future.
The robotic arm is powered by a hydraulic system consisting of three soft tissue bellows actuators. They are in turn triggered by special syringes driven by a DC motor that pump water. The flexible print head allows the print nozzle to move in three directions, just like a conventional desktop 3D printer. In addition, the device contains a miniature camera that allows the surgeon to monitor the process in real time.
The research team conducted its first laboratory tests using chocolate and liquid silicone. Later, the device was tested on a pig kidney and inside a printed colon.
“We saw the cells grow every day and quadruple in size on the seventh day, the last day of the experiment. The results show that F3DB has a strong potential to become a versatile endoscopic tool,” said Thanh Nho Do, one of the team leaders and a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering.
It will take at least 5-7 years before the printer can be used in the human body, and before that, scientists will study and test the use of the printer on animals.
The study was published in February in the journal Advanced Science.
