3D Printing Human Tissue with the 3D-Bioplotter at the University of Texas at San Antonio

PSB | Dec. 12, 2016 ~ The University of Texas at San Antonio, which is using EnvisionTEC’s world-leading 3D-Bioplotter for tissue engineering and biofabrication research, was featured on a PBS website focused on science.

In particular, the UTSA team is working with the U.S. Army on research that could benefit men and women serving in the military who may be injured in combat.

“The 3D printer is actually a bioplotter. So what’s unique about this one is that is capable of printing living cells within the material as you print it,” Teja Guda, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said of the 3D-Bioplotter.

“We’re looking at printing housing or scaffolds for cells to come in and then repopulate and remake tissue,” added Sergio Montelongo, Ph.D. Student, University of Texas at San Antonio.

The real cells that are used for this type of work could come directly from the patient themselves, say, from their fat, so the final part — say a new jaw bone, knee meniscus or even an organ — has less chance of a rejection.

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