A seminar on biomedical 3D printing was held on BC’s main campus on March 27. The two main speakers were Biology professor Tatevik Broutian and Engineering professor Travis Steele. With a little being spoken at the end by lab tech Josephs Morris.
They started with a small explanation of what 3D printing is. Going over lightly what it is used for today, from custom parts for medical devices to toys to even food.
Following the explanation of 3D printing they began covering the history of it. Starting in the 80s when 3D printing was first created. They then progressed through large milestones, with things like a fully 3D-printed car in 2011 and a successful 3D-printed rocket engine part in 2021.
“FDM, fused deposition modeling. That’s when you think of 3D printing. Most people when you think of 3D printing that’s what you think,” said Steele. FDM was one of the types of 3D printing talked about. It uses spools of a material of your choice to create objects.
While progressing they covered lightly the typical steps of 3D printing and the materials one can use. Starting with the different types of modeling then going into the preprocessing, prototyping, and then post-processing.
Right before getting into biomedical 3D printing, they shared a video of 3D-printed prosthetics. Showing how much these easier-made prosthetics mean to people, and showing the ins and outs of making these.
After the video they began going over the steps of 3D bioprinting and how they differ from typical 3D printing. Most of the steps are pretty similar the main difference would be the materials used.
“When it comes to bioprinting, it’s the same type of process. It’s just 100 layers more complex, and that’s because you have to keep the tissue living,” said Broutian.
The materials that bioprinting is made from are something called biolinks. It’s a mixture of living cells and hydrogen-based molecules called hydrogels to give structure and nourishment to the cells.
With this material, you need special 3D bioprinters and very specific growth factors that will help make the tissue functional.
Some of the challenges and limitations were discussed. Mainly the issue of money, as 3D bioprinting is expensive, and the ethical problems that will arise from it.
Nearing the end of the seminar two businesses that work in 3D bioprinting were mentioned Orangovo, which uses 3D bioprinting to test drugs on smaller versions of organs, and Biolife4D, which has managed to make a beating human heart, though it’s not been placed in a human yet.
Luke Massella a boy from 2004 was discussed between the businesses, as he was given a 3D bioprinted replacement for his blader. Massella has not required any surgery since.
They ended the seminar with a small bit from Morris about BC’s makerspace and a time for students to ask any questions they might have.
