It is possible to 3D print fabrics directly on the human body

It becomes possible to print 3D tissues directly in the human body : it is possible thanks to an innovative technique that uses ultrasound and that has been successfully tested on mice . Published in the journal Science, the result is due to the research coordinated by Ehsan Davoodi, of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and opens new perspectives for the medicine of the future .

3D printing has had a major impact on some areas of surgery because it allows for the construction of custom implants , such as a prosthesis or parts of tissue to be implanted, but until now it was limited by the need to print the material outside the body. For years, people have been looking for ways to produce implants directly in the body , for example during surgery, using biocompatible and soft materials , such as gels , that can be shaped as desired and then made rigid . The main obstacle was the need to use ultraviolet light (similar to the technique used by dentists for fillings) to solidify the materials used in 3D printing.

Californian researchers have now developed a new 3D printing technique that uses ultrasound to solidify the gels used by the surgeon to build an implant. This allows for the creation of complex structures within tissues up to 4 centimeters thick , with a resolution of 150 micrometers .

The structures can then be crystallized using a sort of ultrasound from the outside . The same method has also been tested in mice to implant gelatinous sacs capable of releasing drugs, such as chemotherapy, on command and in a localized manner or to create electrodes to monitor the electrical activity of tissues.