Surgeons will use BioPens to precisely add layers of undifferentiated stem cells, like those pictured above, while reconstructing structural defects, especially as they relate to joint mobility and strength (Source: Pixabay).
The advent of BioPens, “handheld surgical pens” that can bioprint artificial tissues for implantation, now provides surgeons with unprecedented control in correcting structural defects (1). Rather than printing entire tissues and surgically implanting them into the recipient, these pens enable surgeons to add layers upon layers of tissue, each of which contains undifferentiated stem cells, to the structural irregularity. Once these stem cells are applied to the afflicted area, they are solidified by an ultraviolet light source and begin differentiating into various types of cells, eventually forming viable tissue.
Scientists predict that this new technology will be implemented most in the area of orthopedics, where surgeons will use it to design and personalize reconstructive bone tissue and joint defects in real time, allowing for quicker recovery and accelerated regeneration of tissue. The possible uses for such a technological feat are numerous.
However, it is important to acknowledge that the BioPen has only come into existence as a result of mass collaboration and the merging of various scientific communities. Stem cell research, three-dimensional printing, materials science, and clinical medicine have only together made such a technology a reality in today’s world. The emergence of this technology marks another significant and successful linkage between technological sciences and clinical medicine, a solution which medical director Bruce Yager believes “exists in the intelligent application of information technology to empower the otherwise-too-limited, unaided human mind” (2).
Sources Cited
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science. (2016, March 31). “Handheld surgical ‘pen’ prints human stem cells.” ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 4, 2016 from <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/03/160331105726.htm>.
- Yager, N B. “Applying Information Technology to Clinical Medicine.” Western Journal of Medicine4 (1986): 521–522. Print.