Scientists in South Korea have modified a glue gun to generate bone grafts and print them directly onto fractures in animals.
Scientists in South Korea have modified a glue gun — the kind you’d use for an arts and crafts DIY project at home — to generate bone grafts and print them directly onto fractures in animals, to aid in the healing process.
As detailed in a new paper published in the journal Device, the team came up with the unusual device to skip the need for prefabricating complex bone implants. In experiments involving rabbits, the researchers created 3D-printed grafts on the fly, allowing fractured bones to heal and regrow naturally.
Within 12 weeks following surgery on rabbits with severe femoral bone fractures, the researchers found no signs of infection — and better bone regeneration compared to control rabbits, which received more traditional bone cement grafts.
Conventional metal or donor bone implants have to be custom-fitted and manufactured ahead of time, making the new solution quite a bit more straightforward and therefore much faster.
