Australian scientists have achieved a major breakthrough in the field of medical technology with the development of a small, flexible robot capable of 3D bioprinting inside the human body.
3D bioprinting is a cutting-edge process that utilizes ‘bio-ink’ made from living cells and natural tissues to create intricate, tissue-like structures for repairing damaged organs, tissues, and blood vessels. Bioprinting is used to create three-dimensional structures of biological tissues, cells, and other biological materials using a 3D printer.
How can it revolutionize healthcare?
The development of a device named F3DB by a team of biomedical engineers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney has the potential to revolutionize the healthcare industry and transform the way we approach disease treatment.
“Existing 3D bioprinting techniques require biomaterials to be made outside the body and implanting that into a person would usually require large open-field open surgery which increases infection risks,” said Thanh Nho Do, UNSW biomedical engineering senior lecturer, and team lead, in a statement.
“Our flexible 3D bioprinter means biomaterials can be directly delivered into the target tissue or organs with a minimally invasive approach,” he added. “This system offers the potential for the precise reconstruction of three-dimensional wounds inside the body, such as gastric wall injuries or damage and disease inside the colon.”
The research from UNSW Medical Robotics Lab, led by Dr. Thanh Nho Do and his PhD student, Mai Thanh Thai, in collaboration with Scientia Professor Nigel Lovell, Dr. Hoang-Phuong Phan, and Associate Professor Jelena Rnjak-Kovacina, is detailed in a paper published in Advanced Science.
The development is a breakthrough because “Currently, there are no commercially available devices that can perform in situ 3D bioprinting on internal tissues/organs distanced from the skin surface” according to Scientia Professor Nigel Lovell, Head of the UNSW’s Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering (GSBmE) and Director of the IHealthE.
However, it is not the first of its kind medical technology. In 2020, Chinese researchers at Tsinghua University created a microrobot designed to treat stomach ulcers by patching the affected area. This was reported as “the first attempt to combine micro robots and bioprinting together.”
How does the device work?
The F3DB medical device, developed by Australian engineers, consists of a three-axis printing head mounted on a soft robotic arm that can bend and twist thanks to hydraulics. The printing head is made of soft artificial muscles, similar to desktop 3D printers, and can be programmed for predetermined shapes or manual operation.
The smallest prototype has a diameter of approximately 11-13 millimeters, similar to a commercial endoscope, but it could be scaled even smaller in the future. “Our prototype is able to 3D print multilayered biomaterials of different sizes and shape through confined and hard-to-reach areas, thanks to its flexible body,” said Dr. Do.
All-in-one endoscopic tool: The tiny robot can also act as an all-in-one endoscopic tool as its printing nozzle can be altered to act as a scalpel and water jet. “This could be especially important in surgery to remove certain cancers, especially colorectal cancer, via a process known as endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD),” the researchers said.
“Compared to the existing endoscopic surgical tools, the developed F3DB was designed as an all-in-one endoscopic tool that avoids the use of changeable tools which are normally associated with longer procedural time and infection risks,” Mai Thanh Thai said.
