3D printed ears could help children with ear deformities
WOLLONGONG: Children with ear deformities will soon be able to get printed ears made from their own stem cells, according to a team of Wollongong researchers working on new 3D bioprinting technology.
They claim their work represents a “huge breakthrough” in the field.
The bio-printer, called 3D Alek, was developed at the University of Wollongong and is now being trialled at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPA).
Its first task is to design and create 3D-printed human ears for those with existing deformities, particularly children with congenital defects like microtia, and would otherwise require complex surgery.
Professor Gordon Wallace, the director of the ARC Centre for Excellence for Electromagnetics Science at the University of Wollongong, said developing the right bio-ink, combined with a suitable printer, presented a major breakthrough.
“The demands of a bio-ink are huge,” Professor Wallace said.
“They have to be able to provide printability, they have to be able to build structures to retain their mechanical integrity.
“But importantly, they have to protect the living cells during the printing process and ensure those cells are in the right environment after printing in order to develop the type of tissue and cells that we want.”
As part of the initial trial, a team led by RPA ear, nose, and throat surgeon Payal Mukherjee will harvest the stem cells from discarded cartilage, which will be used to fast-track the development of bio-ink.
The next step will be using a patient’s own stem cells to grow the ear cartilage, and then print an ear that’s tailored to their own ear abnormality and facial features.
The first priority will be rolling out the technology for children with microtia, including overseas in India later this year, but Professor Wallace said it would could eventually also benefit adults with ear and nose deformities.
“What we’re finding is that each one of those applications requires a dedicated customised printer,” Professor Wallace said.
Professor Wallace said they were also starting animal experiments with the printer, and hoped to make it a commercially-viable technology in the next two to three years.
The use of 3D printing is becoming increasingly popular across Australia, with researchers in Queensland also well-established in printing body parts.
At the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Western Australia, scientists are focussing on how cells in printing material behave during and after the 3D printing process.
Dr Barry Doyle, the head of its Vascular Engineering Lab, said Australia was leading the way in expanding horizons on the technological possibilities.
“Definitely the work going on in the east coast in Wollongong and also up in Queensland is at the forefront,” Dr Doyle said.
“It’s no longer a conceptual area of research.”
Dr Doyle said finding clinical colleagues for testing new 3D printing technology was a crucial element, and he was pleased the Wollongong researchers had found a place to trial it.
He said ensuring the key research was done would give confidence that the work was ready to move into the clinic and try test the technologies and that the researchers were genuinely ready.
“It’s finding the clinical colleagues who are willing to work with you and also the right application and doing the fundamental research to make sure it’s going to work,” he said.
