A 20-year-old woman who was born with a small and misshapen right ear. She has received 3D printed ear implant made from her own cells. The new ear was printed in a shape that precisely matched the woman’s left ear. According to 3DBio Therapeutics, a regenerative medicine company based in New York.
The new ear, transplanted in March, will continue to regenerate cartilage tissue. It will give the look and feel of a natural ear, the company told The New York Times. The technology was developed for people with microtia. Therefore, it is a rare congenital condition in which one or both outer ears are absent or incompletely formed.
About the process of 3D printed ear implant
3DBio Therapeutics, the company behind the breakthrough transplant, took a sample of cartilage cells from Alexa’s ear and grew them in a high-tech laboratory.
The woman cells were later merged with the company’s collagen-based bio-ink. And then the collagen was inserted into a special 3D bioprinter. It is formed the material layer by layer and draw a shape akin to the patient’s left ear.
A surgeon then implanted the 3D-printed ear under the patient’s skin. The first of its kind of transplant is said to be a huge advance in the field of tissue engineering as millions of child gets birth with defects due to genetics, infection, or some kind of exposure.