Monday, April 16, 2007

Artificial bones created from an inkjet printer

Scientists are creating artificial bones using a modified version of an inkjet printer.

The technology creates perfect replicas of bones that have been damaged and these can then be inserted in the body to help it to heal.

The process will revolutionise bone graft surgery, which currently relies on either bits of bone taken from other parts of the body or ceramic-like substitutes.

Professor Jake Barralet of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, explained: "The "paper" in our printer is a thin bed of cement-like powder. The inkjets spray the cement with an acid which reacts with it and goes hard.

"That deals with one layer. Then new layers of fresh powder are sprayed on top, and the layers build up to the shape we need."

It takes only ten minutes for the printer, which is the size of about three filing cabinets, to print a typical bone graft.

With helpful illustration.

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