Devices & Diagnostics, Startups

Student group wins seed money to 3D print bone grafts

A team of college students is working on a way to 3D print bone grafts – mimicking […]

A team of college students is working on a way to 3D print bone grafts – mimicking the complex, porous architecture of the skeleton down to the micro and nanostructure level, 3dprint.com reports.

The concept won the Cal State Long Beach Innovation Challenge – a competition that grants students $10,000 in seed funding, an office space and help with their business strategy.

“The bone printer is a unique technology that can replicate not only bone structures, but bone microstructures – and even nanostructures,” CEO Trevor Wagner said here.

They are attempting to imitate the porosity of the bone is because the body will be less likely to reject something it recognizes structurally, the team said. While broken bones typically repair themselves, such technology could be useful in bone cancers that require amputation. 3dprint.com continues:

The bones printed with the LuxNova OsBot 3D printer could also change the way common procedures like hip replacements are performed. The closer the 3D printed bone material matches actual bone the less chance there is of the body rejecting it, and healing time would be dramatically improved. Less common procedures like rotationplasty would also benefit from this 3D printed bone material, and given enough experimentation it could even become unnecessary and obsolete.

 

The Cal State students aren’t the first to broach the idea of 3D printing bones – Italian researchers are already using similar technology to use as surgical templates. And a Chinese medical team has already printed out a replacement bone that’s already been implanted in a child.

But the technology is still nascent, and its use-case is clear. The Cal State students say that in addition to building up their early stage work, they’re exploring the markets and business opportunities for 3D-printed bone grafts.

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