Biopen Prints Stem Cells

You’ve heard the phrase “The pen is mightier than the sword”? Some Australian scientists are hoping that it’s also mightier than the scalpel, or at least as effective in helping patients.

There are already 3D printing pens like the 3Doodler. What the researchers at the University of Wollongong in Melbourne are working on is a pen that can print regenerative cells onto injured body parts. The team is looking for additional sources of funding, according to their post on Thinkable.

The Biopen is being developed at St. Vincent’s Hospital, which has a biofabrication department. It would allow surgeons, for example, to “print” stem cells at an injury site, which would encourage the production of new cells as part of the healing process.

“Once implanted, these spare parts are designed to stimulate the body to regenerate itself, then to degrade naturally, dissolving in the bloodstream and eventually excreted,” said researcher Cathal O’Connell.

The cells would be delivered via a biopolymer protected by a layer of gel. Cells would then multiply at the wound site. A high-powered, ultra-violet light source solidifies the inks and protects the embedded cells.

Once in place, the stem cells multiply and turn into nerve, muscle and bone cells.

The researchers are part of UOW’s Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES). The device was designed and built using 3D printing equipment.

Currently, the team at St. Vincent’s is working on an application to restore articular cartilage of the knee.

Source: Thinkable