3D Printing BioPen Lets Surgeons Draw New Bone and Skin
In February of this year, the 3Doodler raised $1.8 million in crowdfunding from Kickstarter. The 3Doodler was an innovative take on 3D printing that let you draw plastic in mid-air with a 3D printing pen.
This concept has now been applied to bioprinting.
A BioPen device developed at the University of Wollongong delivers cell material inside a biopolymer protected by an outer layer of gel material. This technique eliminates the need to harvest cartilage and grow it for weeks in a lab, allowing a surgeon to literally draw new bone, skin and muscle tissue on patients.
To solidify the new bone or tissue, a low powered UV light is attached to the BioPen and hardens the ink while a surgeon deposits new layers.
Watch the video below to see how the BioPen works.
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