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Engineering a Printable Ear
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Hearing and vision problems can decrease quality of life for many patients. Difficulty hearing effects communication and learning for individuals. Conventional hearing aids can help improve hearing, but may not completely restore hearing to a normal level. Cochlear implants, which involves putting an electronic device into the ear and connecting it to the brain, can dramatically improve hearing, but the cost of nearly $100,000 per ear is inhibitive to many patients. For patients who have had hearing difficulties since birth, or who have lost hearing due to accidents or injuries, finding a way to restore hearing would help improve how they can interact with the world.

Tissue engineering generally involves seeding cells onto a synthetic scaffolding. The process is used to help with reconstructive surgery. However, building the tissue is not always easy, and getting and maintaining appropriate structure has proven to be very difficult. Human tissues are complex, and scientists have not yet mastered how to reproduce the complex structures of these tissues. Scientists from Princeton University recently developed a method of engineering a functional bionic ear using computer assisted design and three dimensional printing. It was the team’s first attempt to produce an organ that could function in a human, and even improved upon normal human hearing.

Producing functional bioengineered organs and tissue has been difficult in the past. Merging organic tissue with electronic devices is not straightforward. Generally, the tissue is built onto a synthetic scaffold, and then merged with the electronic components. This is difficult for many reasons. Electronics are solid, and made from metallic components. Cells are fluid filled sacs, and can take a variety of shapes. These different chemical and physical factors make it difficult for the two components to effectively merge and work together.

The team of researchers at Princeton University opted to try building the tissue and electric components together in a three dimensional format. Amazingly, this process was completed using a simple, off-the-shelf three dimensional printer costing approximately $1000. To do this, the researchers used three dimensional printing. The printers, with the assistance of computer assisted design machines, layer materials, including cells and electronics parts, into the desired structure. The ear was cultured in a solution to help mature the cells. The cells, which originated from calf, then matured and developed into cartilage cells to provide support for the bioengineered ear. The electronics included a silver nano-particle receiver to help pick up the sound, and silicone surrounding the electronics for insulation and protection. Importantly, the ear maintained the proper structure throughout this process of development.

The bioengineered ear is formed from cartilage surrounding an antenna. A cochlea-like structure, which can sense sound, is connected to electrodes. The electrodes can then be attached to nerve endings in the human, functioning in a way similar to a hearing aid. While the ear the researchers produced uses an antenna to pick up radio signals, the team hopes to next make an ear that can pick up acoustic vibrations, functioning more similarly to a human ear.

This process can be used in the development of future cybernetic devices, which are engineered organs and tissues that can function as well as or better than human organs. With these developments, people who have no sight, hearing, or who have been injured and lost sensory organs, would be able to have new tissues developed that would be able to restore the function. This would be a major breakthrough for reconstructive surgery. In addition, improved sensory functions, such as sight or hearing, could potentially be used to help improve a human’s ability to take in information. This could be useful for national defense products, allowing soldiers to see or hear better, and be safer in combat zones when completing missions.

Although it will take more time and research to produce an ear that can be used clinically to pick up sound waves and transmit the information to the human brain, this advancement is exciting for many reasons. It demonstrates an efficient, inexpensive, and reliable method of producing bioengineered tissues that can function as well as or better than human tissues. In addition, the structure of the tissue was maintained through the whole process of developing the ear, which has been an obstacle to tissue engineering in the past. Many patients could benefit from this technology.



References:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...193208.htm

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/scie...4581.story
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