Handheld Bioprinters as an Approach to Regeneration of Muscle Injury
The work noted here is one of a number of lines of development focused on handheld bioprinters capable of depositing tissue-like structures in situ, directly onto an injury. This is a promising approach to tissue engineering to enhance regeneration, allowing regrowth of tissues where it would not normally take place. It is interesting to compare the work on severe muscle injury here with recent efforts to enhance skin regeneration using a somewhat different handheld bioprinting tool.
Researchers recently developed a handheld 3D bioprinter that could revolutionize the way musculoskeletal surgical procedures are performed. The bioprinter enables surgeons to deposit scaffolds - materials to help support cellular and tissue growth - directly into the defect sites within weakened skeletal muscles. This allows proper filling of the cavity with fibrillar scaffolds in which fibers resemble the architecture of the native tissue. The scaffolds from the bioprinter adhere precisely to the surrounding tissues of the injury and mimic the properties of the existing tissue, eliminating the need for any suturing.
Current methods for reconstructive surgery have been largely inadequate in treating volumetric muscle loss. As a result, 3D printing technology has emerged as an up and coming solution to help reconstruct muscle. "A good solution currently does not exist for patients who suffer volumetric muscle loss. A customizable, printed gel establishes the foundation for a new treatment paradigm can improve the care of our trauma patients."
Existing 3D bioprinting technology is not without its problems. Implanting the hydrogel-based scaffolds successfully requires a very specific biomaterial to be printed that will adhere to the defect site. While 3D bioprinted scaffolds mimicking skeletal muscles have been created in vitro, they have not been successfully used on an actual subject. A handheld bioprinter approach fixes the problem. The bioprinter prints gelatin-based hydrogels - known as "bioink" - that have been proven to be effective in adhering to defect sites of mice with volumetric muscle loss injury. The mice showed a significant increase in muscle hypertrophy following the therapy.
Link: https://today.uconn.edu/2020/02/3d-printers-developed-treat-musculoskeletal-injuries/