Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 28

The pollen microgel is then mixed with
hydrogels such as alginate, a naturally
occurring polymer typically obtained
from brown seaweed, or hyaluronic acid,
a clear, gooey substance naturally produced
by the body, to form the final
pollen-hydrogel hybrid ink.
As a proof-of-concept, the scientists
printed a five-layer tissue engineering
scaffold, useful for culturing cells, in 12
minutes. Collagen was then added to the
scaffold to provide anchor points that
cells can adhere to and then grow.
The scientists then seeded human cells
on the scaffold and found it to have a high
cell-seeding efficiency of 96-97 percent.
This is comparable performance to the
inverted colloidal crystal (ICC) hydrogels
that are widely utilized as 3D cell culture
platforms but that are time-consuming
and laborious to fabricate.
Given that pollen responds to pH
changes - when an environment turns
acidic or alkaline - the NTU team also
tested the viability of the 3D scaffold as a
stimulus-responsive drug delivery system.
When a fluorescent red dye was dripped
onto the scaffold, the scientists found that
the pollen microgel particles released the
dye into the scaffold gradually. The
amount and rate of release increased with
the addition of an acid. This shows that
there is potential for the pollen scaffold to
be used as a drug delivery system with controlled
release, said the scientists.
" Pollen microgel particles have a hollow
shell structure, which means they
could potentially be used to carry drugs,
cells, or biomolecules in drug delivery
platforms with customized 3D structures, "
says Cho. " We are now looking at how we
can use these pollen microgel scaffolds
for 3D cell culture platforms in various
biomedical applications. "
" There is also potential for the pollenbased
scaffold to be used as a smart drug
carrier, given pollen's stimulus-responsive
nature. For instance, we can further slow
down the release of drugs by coating the
pollen-based scaffold with a thin layer of
alginate and stimulate the release by
introducing an acid. "
■ Pollen-Based Support Structure
for Soft 3D Printing Inks
The scientists also found that the soft
and flexible pollen microgel particles,
derived from tough pollen grains, could
potentially serve as a recyclable support
matrix, for use in freeform 3D printing, in
which soft ink is deposited. The support
matrix prevents the collapse of the printed
structure as the ink cures.
To test the feasibility of their approach,
the scientists fabricated a 3D printed silicon
rubber mesh for the elbow using
pollen microgel as the support that would
retain the elbow mesh's shape as it is
being printed.
After curing the printed product at 75
°C (167 °F) for 24 hours inside the
pollen microgel, the scientists found that
the printed 3D silicone rubber mesh
could adapt to the human elbow curvature.
They also found that the mechanical
properties of the silicone rubber samples
printed and cured in the pollen
microgel supporting matrix were similar
to those of samples fabricated via the traditional
casting method.
The use of pollen in the biomedical
field builds on the NTU research team's
body of work on repurposing pollen
grains, a natural renewable resource,
into a building block for various ecofriendly
alternative materials, from ecofriendly
paper to biodegradable sponges
that can soak up oil pollutants.
This research is aligned with NTU's
research ambitions in its 2025 strategic
plan to translate inventions and creativity
into outcomes that enhance economic
benefits and quality of life.
The team is now looking to collaborate
with industry to refine their 3D
printing innovation and advance its commercial
uptake.
For more information, visit https://www.
ntu.edu.sg.
Robotic Neck Brace Can Help Analyze the Impact of
Cancer Treatment
The device could help
guide recovery after
treatment for head and
neck cancer.
Columbia University
New York, NY
A new robotic neck brace from
researchers at Columbia Engineering
and their colleagues at Columbia's
department of otolaryngology may
help doctors analyze the impact of
cancer treatments on the neck mobility
of patients and guide their recovery.
Head and neck cancer was the seventh
most common cancer worldwide in
2018, with 890,000 new cases and
450,000 deaths, accounting for 3 percent
of all cancers and more than 1.5
percent of all cancer deaths in the
28
Intro
Cov
United States. Such cancer can spread to
lymph nodes in the neck, as well as other
organs in the body. Surgically removing
lymph nodes in the neck can help doctors
investigate the risk of spread but
may result in pain and stiffness in the
shoulders and neck for years afterward.
Identifying which patients may have
issues with neck movement " can be difficult,
as the findings are often subtle and
challenging to quantify, " says Scott
Troob, assistant professor of otolaryngology
and head and neck surgery and division
chief of facial plastic and reconstructive
surgery at Columbia University
Irving Medical Center. However, successfully
targeting what difficulties they
might have with mobility can help
patients benefit from targeted physical
therapy interventions, he explains.
The current techniques and tools that
doctors have to judge the range of mo -
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A
tion a patient may have lost in their neck
and shoulders are somewhat crude,
explains Sunil K. Agrawal, a professor of
mechanical engineering and rehabilitative
and regenerative medicine and
director of the ROAR (Robotics and
Rehabilitation) Laboratory at Columbia
Engineering. They usually either provide
unreliable measurements or re -
quire too much time and space to set up
for use in routine clinical visits.
To develop a more reliable and
portable tool to analyze neck mobility,
Agrawal and his colleagues drew inspiration
from a robotic neck brace they previously
developed to analyze head and
neck motions in patients with amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis (ALS). In partnership
with Troob's group, they have
now designed a new wearable robotic
neck brace. Their study appears in the
journal Wearable Technologies.
Medical Design Briefs, October 2021
µ
È
https://www.ntu.edu.sg http://www.medicaldesignbriefs.com http://info.hotims.com/79418-966

Medical Design Briefs - October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Medical Design Briefs - October 2021

Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - Intro
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - Sponsor
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - Cov1a
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - Cov1b
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - Cov1
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - Cov2
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 1
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 2
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 3
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 4
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 5
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 6
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 7
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 8
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 9
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 10
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 11
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 12
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 13
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - 14
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Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - Cov3
Medical Design Briefs - October 2021 - Cov4
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