Artificial Intervertebral Disc

In another example of 3-D printing, researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina printed a scaffolding of an intervertebral disc in polyurethane and seeded it with living cells (bovine cells in this animal study).  In less than three weeks the cells grew to fill out the disc shape, similar to the microstructure of a real disc. While human trials are a while off, this does pose an interesting alternative to metal implants or disc fusing. MORE

Image Credit: Xuejun Wen / Biofabrication and Technology Review