In just a few years, our pal Whiskey might have an even snazzier way to get a replacement if he ever needs it again.
That’s if Susmita Bose and her team at Washington State University have anything to say about it.
-Because they’ve successfully hacked an inkjet printer into a 3D Bone-Scaffold Fab.
They can take just about any CAD file and have the machine spray repeated passes of plastic fixative down onto the calcium phosphate base material and then after a short while, out comes the finished part.
All they have to do is bake it in an oven for about two hours, and it’s ready to be installed with the addition of the same type of cells that built out the implant in Whiskey The Dog. With any traces of man-made material either degrading out, or being fully incorporated into the new body structure.
Here’s to hoping Whiskey won’t need it though, eh?
More details at the links:
JUMP BONUS! VIDEO: DR. SUSMITA EXPLAINS
Photo Credits:
“Bottle series 4”, by Carlos Paes
“network spheres”, by Gerard79
Links:
• Source:WSU-3D Printer used to make bone-like material
• via: BBC-3D Bone Printer
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