Oct 12, 2016 | By Alec
While it may still take a few years before we can 3D print and implant completely new blood vessels, a team of engineers from Northwestern University are using 3D printing to help maintain and support the blood vessels we already have. That is, they have pioneered flexible 3D printed biodegradable stents, which can easily be customized for individual patients and provide life-saving support in the case of weak or clogged up arteries.
This important breakthrough has been realized by a team of researchers from Northwestern University’s Engineering Department, led by Guillermo Ameer and Cheng Sun. Through support from the American Heart Association, they have just published their research in a paper in the Advanced Materials Technologies journal, with postdoc Robert van Lith and graduate student Evan Baker serving as co-first authors.
Guillermo Ameer and Cheng Sun
As they explain in the paper, their 3D printing breakthrough has the potential to fundamentally change the way patients are treated. Currently, artery stents almost completely rely on a one-size-fits-all approach that can cause significant complications. Made from metal and only available in a few sizes, there’s always a danger that stents move into the artery and fail – necessitating an expensive opening surgery or even a bypass with vascular grafts. “Right now, the vast majority of stents are made from a metal and have off-the-shelf availability in various sizes,” said Ameer, who is professor of biomedical engineering at Northwestern and professor of surgery in the Feinberg School of Medicine. “The physician has to guess which stent size is a good fit to keep the blood vessel open. But we’re all different and results are high...
SOURCE: 3ders.org ( go on reading...)
