Getting under your skin: 3D printing technique builds structures through tissues
What if a clinician could 3D print something through your skin, constructing an implant or replacement organ underneath layers of tissue? The world of medicine would be transformed: a host of surgical procedures, which come with a variety of risks, could be performed without ever lifting a scalpel.
A collaborative, NIH-funded team is working to make this Star Trek-like fiction a reality. Their work, published today in Science, outlines a method to print biocompatible structures through thick, multi-layered tissues. The principle? Focused ultrasound, combined with a novel ultrasound-sensitive ink.
“Focused ultrasound has been used for decades to treat a wide variety of conditions, underscoring its safety and utility as a clinical tool,” said Randy King, Ph.D., a program director in the Division of Applied Science & Technology at NIBIB. “This potential new application, built on years of technology advancements, could set the stage for something previously thought impossible: through-tissue 3D ultrasound printing.”
Some 3D printing techniques use light—a form of energy—to trigger the solidification of an “ink,” which is often composed of liquid substance, like resin or plastic. Light, however, doesn’t travel well through skin and organs, getting scattered as it passes through them. In order to successfully “print” through biological tissues, a different energy source would be needed.
