By HAYLEY EVERETT

Regenerative medicine company 3DBio Therapeutics and the Microtia-Congenital Ear Deformity Institute have successfully completed a human ear reconstruction using the former’s novel 3D printed AuriNovo living tissue implant for the first time.

The first-in-human Phase 1/2a clinical trial evaluated the safety and efficacy of AuriNovo for patients with microtia, a rare congenital deformity where one or both outer ears are absent or underdeveloped. 3DBio’s patient-specific living tissue implant was developed using 3D bioprinting technology to provide a viable treatment alternative to rib cartilage grafts and traditionally-used synthetic materials.

“As a physician who has treated thousands of children with microtia from across the country and around the world, I am inspired by what this technology may mean for microtia patients and their families,” said Arturo Bonilla, a leading pediatric ear reconstructive surgeon who performed the procedure. “This study will allow us to investigate the safety and aesthetic properties of this new procedure for ear reconstruction using the patient’s own cartilage cells.

“MY HOPE IS THAT AURINOVO WILL ONE DAY BECOME THE STANDARD-OF-CARE REPLACING THE CURRENT SURGICAL METHODS FOR EAR RECONSTRUCTION REQUIRING THE HARVESTING OF RIB CARTILAGE OR THE USE OF POROUS POLYETHYLENE (PPE) IMPLANTS.”

Scientists have made a medical breakthrough using 3D-printed technology.

Doctors at a New York City-based biotech company called 3D Bio Theraputics said they have successfully implanted a 3D-printed ear onto a human patient that was made out of the patient’s own tissue.

According to them, this technology could change the lives of people with ears that are improperly formed.

“Microsia patients have very limited options and, for decades, have been hoping for a solution that delivers them natural, living tissue from their own cells, matching their other ears,” said CEO and founder Dr. Daniel Cohen.

Close-up of a cylinder in a Melt Electrowriting system showing a printed heart valve scaffold. Credit: Andreas Heddergott / TUM

Researchers have developed 3D printed artificial heart valves designed to allow a patient’s own cells to form new tissue. To form these scaffolds using melt electrowriting—an advanced additive manufacturing technique—the team has created a new fabrication platform that enables them to combine different precise, customized patterns and hence to fine-tune the scaffold’s mechanical properties. Their long-term goal is to create implants for children that develop into new tissue and therefore last a lifetime.

In the human body, four heart valves ensure that blood flows in the correct direction. It is essential that heart valves open and close properly. To fulfill this function, heart valve tissue is heterogeneous, meaning that heart valves display different biomechanical properties within the same tissue.

A team of researchers working with Petra Mela, Professor of Medical Materials and Implants at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and Professor Elena De-Juan Pardo from The University of Western Australia, have now, for the first time, imitated this heterogeneous structure using a 3D printing process called melt electrowriting. To do this, they have developed a platform that facilitates printing precise customized patterns and their combination, which enabled them to fine-tune different mechanical properties within the same scaffold.