A new innovation allows scientists to 3D-print human bones from a person’s own living cells and for the first time, the process has been done at room temperature.

A team at Australia’s University of New South Wales-Sydney created a ‘bio-ink’ gel that contains a patient’s live bone cells in a calcium phosphate solution, which are necessary minerals for bone formation and maintenance.

Using a technique known as ceramic omnidirectional bioprinting in cell-suspensions (COBICS), the gel is 3D-printed directly into the patient’s bone cavity instead of surgeons having to remove a piece from a different location.

The material then hardens within minutes of being exposed to bodily fluids and converts into mechanically interlocking bone nanocrystals.

Scroll down for video 

A new innovation allows scientists to 3D-print human bones from a person's own living cells and for the first time , the process has been done at room temperature

A new innovation allows scientists to 3D-print human bones from a person's own living cells and for the first time , the process has been done at room temperature

A new innovation allows scientists to 3D-print human bones from a person’s own living cells and for the first time , the process has been done at room temperature

The act of 3D-printing bone-mimicking structures is not new, but the University of New South Wales-Sydney’s method allows the process to be done at room temperature for the first time.

This means bones can be created on the spot inside a medical room, along with using the patient’s own living cells.

Dr Iman Roohani from UNSW’s School of Chemistry, said: ‘This is a unique technology that can produce structures that closely mimic bone tissue.’

‘It could be used in clinical applications where there is a large demand for in situ repair of bone defects such as those caused by trauma, cancer, or where a big chunk of tissue is resected.’

[embedded content]
A team at Australia's University of New South Wales-Sydney created a 'bio-ink' gel that contains a patient's live bone cells in a calcium phosphate solution, which are necessary minerals for bone formation and maintenance

A team at Australia's University of New South Wales-Sydney created a 'bio-ink' gel that contains a patient's live bone cells in a calcium phosphate solution, which are necessary minerals for bone formation and maintenance

A team at Australia’s University of New South Wales-Sydney created a ‘bio-ink’ gel that contains a patient’s live bone cells in a calcium phosphate solution, which are necessary minerals for bone formation and maintenance

Prior to this work, if a patient needed a piece of bone doctors would have to remove a section from a different location in the body.

And 3D-printing was only available by first going to a laboratory to fabricate the structures using high-temperature furnaces and toxic chemicals.

Associate Professor Kristopher Kilian who co-developed the breakthrough technology, said: ‘This produces a dry material that is then brought into a clinical setting or in a laboratory, where they wash it profusely and then add living cells to it,’ Professor Kilian says.

Using a technique known as ceramic omnidirectional bioprinting in cell-suspensions (COBICS), the gel is 3D-printed directly into the patient's bone cavity instead of surgeons having to remove a piece from a differently location

Using a technique known as ceramic omnidirectional bioprinting in cell-suspensions (COBICS), the gel is 3D-printed directly into the patient's bone cavity instead of surgeons having to remove a piece from a differently location

Using a technique known as ceramic omnidirectional bioprinting in cell-suspensions (COBICS), the gel is 3D-printed directly into the patient’s bone cavity instead of surgeons having to remove a piece from a differently location

The special ink made for the process forms a structure that is chemically similar to bone-building blocks, according to the scientists.

The special ink made for the process forms a structure that is chemically similar to bone-building blocks, according to the scientists.

The special ink made for the process forms a structure that is chemically similar to bone-building blocks, according to the scientists.

‘The cool thing about our technique is you can just extrude it directly into a place where there are cells, like a cavity in a patient’s bone. We can go directly into the bone where there are cells, blood vessels and fat, and print a bone-like structure that already contains living cells, right in that area.’

‘There are currently no technologies that can do that directly.’

The special ink made for the process forms a structure that is chemically similar to bone-building blocks, according to the scientists.

‘The ink is formulated in such a way that the conversion is quick, non-toxic in a biological environment and it only initiates when ink is exposed to the body fluids, providing an ample working time for the end-user, for example, surgeons,’ Dr Roohani said.

He explains that the ink combines with a collagenous substance that contains living cells, ‘it enables in-situ fabrication of bone-like tissues which may be suitable for bone tissue engineering applications, disease modelling, drug screening, and in-situ reconstruction of bone and osteochondral defects.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk

You May Also Like

Update your iPhone NOW as Apple rolls out urgent fix for bug that crashes calls

APPLE has rolled out an emergency fix for an iPhone bug that…

Video Games That Encourage Human Interaction Can Build Better Vibes

Gamers have long been stigmatized as lonely weirdos. Some of that has…

How a Right-Wing Controversy Could Sabotage US Election Security

It remains unclear how many of Warner’s colleagues agree with him. But…

Today’s Cartoon: Unfinished Business

Monday, April 27, 2020. By Kim Warp, with cartooncollections.com. A site called…