Jun 06, 2022 13:00:00

Successful first clinical trial to create 'ears' from patients' own cells with a 3D printer

Research on 3D printing is progressing in the medical field as well, such as making

skin and bones using human cells and plasma with a 3D printer to treat injuries and printing the heart and liver as a solution for organ transplantation. I'm out. A new study reported in June 2022 showed that women who were born with deformed ears were successfully transplanted with 3D-printed ears.

3DBio Therapeutics and the Microtia-Congenital Ear Deformity Institute Conduct Human Ear Reconstruction Using 3D-Bioprinted Living Tissue Implant in a First-in-Human Clinical Trial | Business Wire
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220602005051/en/3DBio-Therapeutics-and-the-Microtia-Congenital-Ear-Deformity-Institute-Conduct-Human-Ear-Reconstruction-Using-3D-Bioprinted- Living-Tissue-Implant-in-a-First-in-Human-Clinical-Trial

Doctors Transplant Ear of Human Cells, Made by 3-D Printer --The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/02/health/ear-transplant-3d-printer.html

Woman receives 3D-printed ear made from her own cells --The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/2/23151690/3d-printed-ear-transplant

In recent years, the technology to create organs using a 3D printer to solve the donor shortage problem in organ transplantation has been energetically researched, and in April 2019, we succeeded in making the world's first heart, and in addition to 2019 In December of the year, it was announced that it succeeded in producing a small but functional liver.

Succeeded in making a heart using a 3D printer and human cells for the first time in the world --GIGAZINE

In a press release released on June 2, 2022 by 3DBIO THERAPEUTICS , which researches and develops 3D bioprints and biological tissue implants for medical use, 3D-printed ears based on human cells were naturally deformed. It was reported that it was successfully transplanted to a woman. Tissue engineering technology is said to be a successful example as part of the first clinical trial and a major step forward in the field of research.

Every year in the United States, about 1500 newborns are born with microtia, a condition in which one or both ears are underdeveloped or completely missing. Patients with small ear disease usually use ears made of rib implants or synthetic materials, but 11 people who participated in the 3DBIO THERAPEUTICS clinical trial extracted chondrocytes from their own cells and extracted them. I had an operation to transplant a living tissue called 'Auri Novo' that was grown and 3D printed in the shape of an ear. Although clinical trials are still underway, the doctor in charge of the transplant said that the ears to be transplanted are made from their own cells and are less likely to cause rejection.

A 20-year-old woman who had an actual transplant had her right ear deformed smaller than her left ear, but Auri Novo transplanted a new ear that was 3D printed from her cells in a way that exactly matched her left ear. Was received in March 2022. The new ear will continue to regenerate cartilage tissue after transplantation, giving it a natural look and feel.

According to the New York Times, 3DBIO THERAPEUTICS has not disclosed technical details about 3D printed ear technology due to its own concerns. Therefore, it seems that it is difficult to evaluate by outside experts. 3DBIO THERAPEUTICS says federal regulators will check the full picture of the trial, set strict manufacturing standards, and publish details in medical journals after the study is complete.

In the future, 3DBIO THERAPEUTICS talks about the prospect of treating people with defects and degenerations in the nose and spine that are more complicated than the ears and directly affect the human body, and finally transplant organs such as the liver and kidneys by 3D printing technology. increase. 'If all this research goes according to plan, it will revolutionize the way microtia is treated,' said Dr. Arturo Bonilla, who actually performed the transplant surgery.