Medical Manufacturing & Outsourcing - Version A. April 2021 - 20

TECH BRIEFS
Full-Sized 3D-Bioprinted Heart Model
Surgeons can use the heart model as a tool for planning and practice.
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

A

team has created
the first full-sized
3D-bioprinted human heart
model using the Freeform
Reversible Em-bedding
of Suspended Hydrogels
(FRESH) technique. The
model, created from MRI
data using a specially built
3D printer, realistically
mimics the elasticity of
cardiac tissue and sutures.
The FRESH technique of 3D
bioprinting was invented to
fill a demand for 3D-printed
A completed 3D-bioprinted heart model.
soft polymers, which lack the
rigidity to stand unsupported as
heart at full scale. This necessitated
in a normal print. FRESH 3D printing
the building of a new 3D printer
uses a needle to inject bioink into a
custom made to hold a gel support
bath of soft hydrogel, which supports
bath large enough to print at
the object as it prints. Once finished,
the desired size as well as minor
a simple application of heat causes
software changes to maintain the
the hydrogel to melt away, leaving
speed and fidelity of the print.
only the 3D-bioprinted object.
Major hospitals often have facilities
The major obstacle to achieving
for 3D-printing models of a patient's
this milestone was printing a human

body to help surgeons educate
patients and plan for the actual
procedure; however, these
tissues and organs can only
be modeled in hard plastic
or rubber. The team's heart
is made from a soft, natural
polymer called alginate, giving
it properties similar to real
cardiac tissue. For surgeons,
this enables the creation of
models that can cut, suture, and
be manipulated in ways similar
to a real heart. The immediate
goal is to begin working with
surgeons and clinicians to fine
tune their technique and ensure
it's ready for the hospital setting.
Surgeons can manipulate the model
and have it actually respond like real
tissue, so that when they get into the
operating site, they've got an additional
layer of realistic practice in that setting.
For more information, contact E.
Forney at 412-268-1422; eforney@
cmu.edu.

Tiny 3D-Printed Bricks Enable Bone and Soft Tissue Repair
Flea-sized, hollow blocks can be filled with materials that improve healing.
Oregon Health & Science University, Portland

T

iny, 3D-printed bricks have
been de-signed to heal broken
bones and could one day lead
to lab-made organs for human
transplant. Inspired by LEGO®
blocks, the small, hollow bricks
serve as scaffolding onto which
both hard and soft tissue can
regrow better than today's
standard regeneration methods.
Each brick is 1.5 millimeters
cubed, or roughly the size of
a small flea. The scaffolding
can be stacked together like
LEGOs and placed in thousands
of different configurations to
20 APRIL 2021

Tiny 3D-printed technology can be assembled like LEGO®
blocks to help repair broken bones and soft tissue. (OHSU)

match the complexity and size
of almost any situation.
Orthopedic surgeons typically
repair more complex bone fractures
by im-planting metal rods or plates to
stabilize the bone and then inserting
bio-compatible scaffolding materials
packed with powders or pastes that
promote healing. A unique advan-
tage of the new scaffolding system
is that its hollow blocks can be filled
with small amounts of gel containing
various growth factors that are
pre--cisely placed closest to where
they are needed. Growth-factorfilled blocks placed near repaired

MEDICAL MANUFACTURING AND OUTSOURCING SPECIAL REPORT
Medical Manufacturing & Outsourcing - Version A. April 2021

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