The Future of Reconstructive Surgery: Hyperelastic Bone

 

Researchers have recently discovered hyperelastic bone, a new material which will help them in the field of medicine.  This 3D-printed bone can be used as an implant under the gums, as a compound for the new bone which will grow on it. It could also be used to substitute bones altogether. Scientists claim that this new concept has been registered as successful when tested on animals. The product hasn’t been tested on humans yet.

• Researchers have found a way to use 3D-printed bone in surgical procedures.
• The use of this hyperelastic bone has been proved to be successful.

In “Science Translational Medicine,” this hyperelastic bone has been described as being made of a mineral which naturally occurs in nature, and it’s called hydroxyapatite. This kind of calcium discovered in the composition of bones and already exploited in surgical procedures is very friable. To gain flexibility, men of science have mixed this mineral with polymer. After that, they have printed in 3D bone grafts from this new material and then managed to test it.

One of the researchers, Ramille Shah, was happy to unveil that this 3D printed bone, whenever an outside force has tried to deformed it, it changed immediately to its natural form. She claimed that this hyperelastic bone could be very easily folded, cut and rolled into places where the bone material is not sufficient, and it can be used without stitches or glue. In reconstruction surgeries, it is vital that the material should be absorbent and porous, which could advance the development of blood vessels.

Scientists have tested this hyperelastic bone in some experiments, by placing human being’s stem cells into various frames that were 3D prints of this useful material. This kind of 3D-printed bone is intended to be used in surgical procedures. These amazing cells managed to grow very fast on the skeleton, not only occupying the space in a few weeks but also developing new bone minerals. The co-author of this study, Adam Jakus, expressed his surprise about how their work went from synthetic skeleton to organic minerals which were produced by the stem cells.

In another study conducted by the same team, scientists implanted 3D-printed bone under a mouse’s skin. The new bone cells were steadily integrating with the skin of the mouse without causing any inflammation.

Isn’t this a great discovery which will change the future of medicine? Would you trust the use of this 3D-printed bone?

Image source: wikipedia