Bone print

Travel to Mars and back is a timeframe of years.  So what happens if a medical emergency, like burns or bone fractures occur?  Researchers at Dresden Technical University Hospital believe they have an answer: 3D printing of tissues using engineered blood plasma as a bioink.  “Blood plasma is a great bio-ink since it has just the right nutrients that cells like. It is very thin, so the researchers focused on developing a way to thicken it up. Using methylcellullose and alginate, they increased the viscosity of the substance so that it can be pushed through a 3D printer nozzle and then stay in place. The new material is so thick that it can be used to print upside down, an interesting property for a group working on doing this in outer space.”   See videos of this bioprinting.  MORE WITH VIDEO

Image Credit:  Dresden Technical University Hospital and MedGadget.com