US scientists have demonstrated a groundbreaking innovation in animal experiments: Using ultrasound, they have succeeded in three-dimensionally “printing” biomaterials directly inside organs. This could enable minimal interventions without surgery.
According to the authors of the study, pig livers, hearts and skin provided ideal test conditions. By injecting special inks into the organs, the researchers were able to use focused ultrasound waves to build up structures layer by layer – similar to conventional 3D printing processes.
The scientists led by bioengineer Junjie Yao from Duke University cited finding a balance between efficient printing and tissue safety as a particular challenge. Now the technology is to be further improved and tailored to human applications.
According to study leader Yu Shrike Zhang from Harvard Medical School, the “acoustic volume printing method” opens up new options for minimal interventions. Instead of printing implants externally, scaffolds or drugs could be produced directly in organs.
Details of the work can be found in the scientific paper “Self-enhancing sono-inks enable deep-penetration acoustic volumetric printing“.
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