• Question: When you use a 3D printer to make bones. What are the bones made from?

    Asked by Billy123 to Fiona on 6 Mar 2018.
    • Photo: Fiona Freeman

      Fiona Freeman answered on 6 Mar 2018:


      So we don’t actually 3D print the bone tissue itself. We 3D print constructs that will make the body itself make the bone. Sometimes the body needs a bit of help. So we use a plastic that over time will break down to make space for the new bone made by the body. We can also 3D print cells in a hydrogel. A hydrogel is basically a soft jelly like material that the cells like, it is usually made out of things like seaweed or fibrin (that red stuff that scabs when you cut your knee). We can then 3D print this jelly in between the polymer to create a bone tissue replacement that can be put in the body to help the body regenerate the damaged bone. This can take months to happen once implanted into the body.

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