US EditionKorean 3D ‘glue gun’ prints custom bone repairs directly onto fractures
The device enables surgeons to 3D-print bone grafts during surgery, promoting better healing and reducing operation time, with improved bone growth observed in animal tests.
- Researchers in South Korea developed a modified glue gun that can print 3D bone grafts directly onto fractures during surgery, tested on rabbits with severe femoral fractures as they prepare for human trials.
- To tackle limits of bone cement, researchers designed an in situ printing system delivering a scaffold that biologically integrates and degrades as new bone forms, avoiding preoperative preparation such as imaging, modelling, and trimming.
- At 12 weeks, researchers found the printing group showed no infection or necrosis with greater bone regeneration in rabbits; lab tests showed the filament inhibited E. coli and S. aureas while drugs diffused locally.
- Surgeons can adjust printing direction, angle and depth with the compact, manually operated device, completing grafting in minutes, while clinical adoption requires standardized manufacturing, sterilization, and large animal preclinical studies to meet regulatory approval standards.
- By altering the hydroxyapatite-to-polycaprolactone ratio, researchers can tailor graft hardness and enable slow drug release at the surgical site, reported in the journal Device.
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Korean 3D ‘glue gun’ prints custom bone repairs directly onto fractures
South Korean doctors developed a tool made from a modified glue gun that can 3D print bone grafts directly onto fractures and defects during surgery.
3D printing ‘glue gun’ creates bone grafts directly in the operating room
Scientists have designed a new tool that works like a glue gun but prints bone grafts directly onto broken or damaged bones during surgery. The technology, described in the journal Device, has so far been tested in rabbits and shows promise for creating customized bone implants quickly and safely—without the need for complicated preparation before […] The post 3D printing ‘glue gun’ creates bone grafts directly in the operating room appeared fir…
Modified Glue Gun Delivers Personalized Fracture Treatment
A modified glue gun can print 3D bone grafts directly onto fractures, preclinical research shows. The portable printing device was able to create bone scaffolds in rabbits, where they were shown to be structurally flexible with the ability to release anti-inflammatory antibiotics. Instead of glue, the gun uses a filament composed of the naturally occurring mineral hydroxyapatite and a biocompatible thermoplastic called polycaprolactone. By modif…
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