We have all used printers to print a school paper, make copies of documents, print pictures of vacations and print coupons from a nearby retailers. But what about printing a body part. Not a picture of one but an actual new living body part?
Researches at Cornell University proven it
possible by creating a replacement ear using a 3-D printer and
injections of living cells.
This historical, sci-fi like, accomplishment is the first step toward growing customized new ears for children born with
malformed ones, or people who lose one to accident or disease.
It's part of the hot field of tissue
regeneration, trying to regrow all kinds of body parts. Scientists hope
using 3-D printing technology might offer a speedier method with more
lifelike results.
Three-dimensional printers, which
gradually layer materials to form shapes, are widely used in
manufacturing. For medicine, Atala said the ear work is part of broader
research that shows "the technology now is at the point where we can in
fact print these 3-dimensional structures and they do become functional
over time."
From a rotating image taken of a patient, the 3-D printer
produces a soft mold of the ear. A special
collagen gel that's full of cow cells is injected into the mold responsible for producing cartilage. Over the next few weeks, cartilage grows to replace the
collagen. At three months, it appeared to be a flexible and workable
outer ear.
The days of an injured victim permanently losing an ear in a horrific car accident could soon be over.
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