Health & Medicine
The Newly Discovered 3D Printed Bone Could Repair Broken, Damaged Bones
Elaine Hannah
First Posted: Oct 13, 2016 04:59 AM EDT
Scientists discovered the "hyperelastic bone" or known as 3D printed bone, which has a new super flexible material that can be 3-D printed into femurs, skullcaps and other bone shapes. These are found to be useful in repairing the broken or damaged bones.
The study was printed in the American Association for the Advancement of Science' peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine. It was led by Ramille Shah, a material science engineer at Northwestern University in Chicago and colleagues, according to Science News.
The 3D printed bone is super flexible, sturdy and porous. It could support a load up to 150 tons. The materials are made up of a mixture of an elastic polymer plus hydroxyapatite, which is a calcium mineral found in human bones and teeth. Once the hyperelastic bone is implanted, the material encourages the real bones to start growing within a month to substitute the scaffold.
The hyperelastic bone material is tested in animal models such as rat and rhesus macaque monkey. The results were affirmative and successful. In the monkey with skull damage, it quickly synthesized the existing bone while not affecting the immune response. It incorporated with the monkey's skull tissue in a month. Likewise, in the rat, there was no negative immune response too and quickly integrated with its surrounding tissues, which led to new bone growth.
Shah explained that porosity is huge when it comes to tissue regeneration. She further explained that their 3D structure had various levels of porosity that is advantageous for its physical and biological properties.
The 3D printed bones are also useful for the treatment of bone defects in children. Shah said that adults have more options when it comes to implants. On the other hand, pediatric patients do not. She continued that if you give them a permanent implant, you have to do more surgeries in the future as they grow and they might face years of difficulty, as noted by Digital Arts.
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First Posted: Oct 13, 2016 04:59 AM EDT
Scientists discovered the "hyperelastic bone" or known as 3D printed bone, which has a new super flexible material that can be 3-D printed into femurs, skullcaps and other bone shapes. These are found to be useful in repairing the broken or damaged bones.
The study was printed in the American Association for the Advancement of Science' peer-reviewed journal Science Translational Medicine. It was led by Ramille Shah, a material science engineer at Northwestern University in Chicago and colleagues, according to Science News.
The 3D printed bone is super flexible, sturdy and porous. It could support a load up to 150 tons. The materials are made up of a mixture of an elastic polymer plus hydroxyapatite, which is a calcium mineral found in human bones and teeth. Once the hyperelastic bone is implanted, the material encourages the real bones to start growing within a month to substitute the scaffold.
The hyperelastic bone material is tested in animal models such as rat and rhesus macaque monkey. The results were affirmative and successful. In the monkey with skull damage, it quickly synthesized the existing bone while not affecting the immune response. It incorporated with the monkey's skull tissue in a month. Likewise, in the rat, there was no negative immune response too and quickly integrated with its surrounding tissues, which led to new bone growth.
Shah explained that porosity is huge when it comes to tissue regeneration. She further explained that their 3D structure had various levels of porosity that is advantageous for its physical and biological properties.
The 3D printed bones are also useful for the treatment of bone defects in children. Shah said that adults have more options when it comes to implants. On the other hand, pediatric patients do not. She continued that if you give them a permanent implant, you have to do more surgeries in the future as they grow and they might face years of difficulty, as noted by Digital Arts.
See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone