What could be considered as a big breakthrough in the medical industry if it turns out successful, a group of researchers in Australia are currently working on a 3D-printing pen called the Biopen, which will allow surgeons to draw regenerative cells onto injured body parts.
The team from University of Wollongong in Melbourne is currently showcasing its new invention in a funding competition on Thinkable.org, a site that provides scientists a research platform to showcase their innovative ideas for fans to vote on and even sponsor if them if they want to.
The Biopen will create artificial replicas of human body parts and once implanted, they will stimulate the body to regenerate itself, then to degrade naturally, dissolving in the bloodstream and eventually getting excreted from the system. The pen will allow the researchers to print with cells.
The wonderpen will let surgeons fill a bunch of healing stem cells into the wound of a patient which will help in repairing the wound.
By taking some fat cells off of a patient, scientists will be able to replicate these on a large scale, thus stocking up the ‘ink’ that can fill up the Biopen.
From thereon, the pen works pretty similar to 3 dimensional printing methods. It will deliver cell material inside a biopolymer, protected by a second layer of gel material. Both these layers are then combined and applied layer after layer onto the wounded area.
According to the team, these cells then multiply around the wound and create a “thriving community of cells".
"We are just on the outset of this project, and early funding sources (such as this competition) could make all the difference in helping us turn this idea into a clinical reality, said Cathal O’Connell, part of the team behind the revolutionary invention.
The team from University of Wollongong in Melbourne is currently showcasing its new invention in a funding competition on Thinkable.org, a site that provides scientists a research platform to showcase their innovative ideas for fans to vote on and even sponsor if them if they want to.
The Biopen will create artificial replicas of human body parts and once implanted, they will stimulate the body to regenerate itself, then to degrade naturally, dissolving in the bloodstream and eventually getting excreted from the system. The pen will allow the researchers to print with cells.
The wonderpen will let surgeons fill a bunch of healing stem cells into the wound of a patient which will help in repairing the wound.
By taking some fat cells off of a patient, scientists will be able to replicate these on a large scale, thus stocking up the ‘ink’ that can fill up the Biopen.
From thereon, the pen works pretty similar to 3 dimensional printing methods. It will deliver cell material inside a biopolymer, protected by a second layer of gel material. Both these layers are then combined and applied layer after layer onto the wounded area.
According to the team, these cells then multiply around the wound and create a “thriving community of cells".
"We are just on the outset of this project, and early funding sources (such as this competition) could make all the difference in helping us turn this idea into a clinical reality, said Cathal O’Connell, part of the team behind the revolutionary invention.
Advertisements