Artificial blood vessels made on a 3D printer may soon be used for transplants of lab-created organs.

Until now, the stumbling block in tissue engineering has been supplying artificial tissue with nutrients that have to arrive via capillary vessels.

A team at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany has solved that problem using 3D printing and a technique called multiphoton polymerisation.

The findings will be shown at the Biotechnica Fair in Germany in October.

Out of thousands of patients in desperate need of an organ transplant there are inevitably some who do not get it in time.

In Germany, for instance, more than 11,000 people have been put on an organ transplant waiting list in 2011 alone.

To make sure more patients receive these life-saving surgeries, researchers in tissue engineering all over the globe have been working on creating artificial tissue and even entire organs in the lab.

But for a lab-made organ to function, it needs to be equipped with artificial blood vessels – tiny and extremely complex tubes that our organs naturally possess, used to carry nutrients.

Numerous attempts have been made to create synthetic capillaries, and the latest one by the German team seems to be especially promising.

“The individual techniques are already functioning and they are presently working in the test phase; the prototype for the combined system is being built,” said Dr Gunter Tovar, who heads the BioRap project at Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB in Stuttgart.

Elastic biomaterials

3D printing technology has been increasingly used in numerous industries, ranging from creating clothes, architectural models and even chocolate treats.

But this time, Dr Tovar’s team had a much more challenging printing mission.

To print something as small and complex as a blood vessel, the scientists combined the 3D printing technology with two-photon polymerisation – shining intense laser beams onto the material to stimulate the molecules in a very small focus point.

The material then becomes an elastic solid, allowing the researchers to create highly precise and elastic structures that would be able to interact with a human body’s natural tissue.

So that the synthetic tubes do not get rejected by the living organism, their walls are coated with modified biomolecules.

Such biomolecules are also present in the composition of the “inks” used for the blood vessel printer, combined with synthetic polymers.

“We are establishing a basis for applying rapid prototyping to elastic and organic biomaterials,” said Dr Tovar.

“The vascular systems illustrate very dramatically what opportunities this technology has to offer, but that’s definitely not the only thing possible.”

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14946808

REHOVOT, Israel–Objet, a leader in 3-D printing for rapid prototyping and additive manufacturing, has launched a new bio-compatible 3-D printing material (MED610).

According to Objet, the material combines bio-compatibility with high dimensional stability and clear transparency. This makes it useful for PMMA simulation and a range of medical and dental applications, particularly the production of accurate, customized surgical guides.

Dr. Stan Brodie, specialist in digital implant planning and surgical guides at iDent, and a user of Objet 3D printing technology, commented, “The accuracy and fine detail of Objet 3-D-printed surgical guides guarantee surgeons a consistently high level of precision that’s unmatched by manual processes. The new bio-compatible material now introduces further benefits to the process with improved transparency, making it easier to monitor underlying soft tissue during dental procedures.”

Avi Cohen, head of medical solutions at Objet added, “Objet invests significantly in R&D in order to proactively meet the requirements of our customers. The advanced mechanical properties of the new bio-compatible material, including its clear transparency, bring benefits to the entire medical and dental workflow–from surgical planning through to the procedure itself.”

The new Objet bio-compatible material is intended for prolonged skin contact of more than 30 days and mucosal-membrane contact of up to 24 hours. It has five medical approvals according to the harmonized standard ISO 10993?1: Cytotoxicity, Genotoxicity, Delayed Type Hypersensitivity, Irritation and USP Plastic Class VI.*

MED610 is also manufactured under the ISO 13485:2003 certification, which specifies that each and every batch of the material undergoes bio-compatibility conformity testing, including GC-FID before it is packaged. This helps ensure the highest bio-compatible standards for medical and dental application requirements.

MED610 is the second material the company has created specifically for dental and medical applications. It joins the company’s original Objet VeroDent material, used extensively by dental labs worldwide in the digital dental process.

The bio-compatible material can be used on all Objet Connex and Eden 3-D printers and is available for purchase. Existing customers can use this material following a software upgrade.

*Biological Testing: Parts printed by Objet according to Objet MED610 Use and Maintenance Terms (DOC-08242) were evaluated for biocompatibility in accordance with standard DIN EN ISO 10993-1: 2009, Biological evaluation of medical devices-Part 1: Evaluation and Testing within a risk management process.

This addresses cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, delayed hypersensitivity, and USP plastic Class VI which includes the test for irritation, acute systemic toxicity and implantation.

For more information, visit us at www.objet.com.

Source: http://www.dentistryiq.com/index/display/article-display/2101128281/articles/dentisryiq/products/equipment/2011/09/objet-printing.html

The world’s first ‘printed’ car has finally rolled off the printing press.

The ‘Urbee’ was made using a special printer which built up layer upon layer of bodywork – almost as if the car was ‘painted’ into existence, except using layers of ultra-thin composite that are slowly ‘fused’ into a solid. 

But unlike most ‘innovations’ in cars, this one won’t break down after 5 years – Urbee is built to last 30. Project leader Jim Kor, told MailOnline today: ‘For us, this unveiling was quite a milestone.

Underneath is a petrol and electric hybrid engine which helps make it one of the greenest cars in the world.

Experts have said the car uses eight times less energy than a similar vehicle and can go can go 200mpg on the motorway.

It also has a sleek, futuristic design which makes it look like a prop from a science fiction film like the Fifth Element.

The ‘printing’ process, however, it what has attracted so much attention: it was completely different to the normal way car manufacturers build a car, which is to bolt chunks of bodywork on where they need to go.

Engineers on the Urbee instead put layers of ultra thin composite material on top of each other so they become fused together to make it 3D in a process called ‘additive layer manufacturing’.

Kor says, ‘We are a small group of designers and engineers in Winnipeg trying to make a difference.

‘Making things this way could revolutionize how we produce things. It has certainly changed my way of thinking about manufacturing.

‘This process of 3-D printing turned into ‘digital manufacturing’ would change the way we replace parts within machines.’

The Urbee, which took 15 years to make, has three wheels, two seats and a combustion engine in case of emergencies.

It can be charged for a few pence from a normal plug socket or from a small solar panel array or wind turbine.

The Urbee has a small single cylinder engine that generate a mere eight horsepower, yet it can go up to 70mph if necessary because it is so light and efficient.

Even driving around the city it can do 100mpg and Canadian firm Kor EcoLogic, which designed it, insists that it could become a viable runaround for normal people.

Project leader Jim Kor told the TEDxWinnipeg conference that the vehicle was amongst the greenest ever made.

He said the way it was printed ‘only puts material where one needs it’.

‘It is an additive process, building the part essentially one ‘molecule’ of material at a time, ultimately with no waste,’ he added.

‘This process can do many materials, and our goal would be to use fully-recycled materials.’

Although the prototype has finally been completed it will be some time before the Urbee is available to buy in car showrooms.

The team behind it still have to raise the money for a second prototype, which will be at least $1million (£610,000).

Even then it will cost up to $50,00 (£32,000) to buy new, although the price should drop if it is mass produced.

Other professions which have shown an interest in additive layer manufacturing including medicine with some suggestion that prosthetic body parts could eventually be ‘printed’ to the size and shape they are required.