The manufacturer revealed on Thursday that a 20-year-old lady who was born with a tiny and malformed right ear had gotten a 3-D printed ear implant manufactured from her cells. The transplant, which was part of the first clinical trial of successful medical use of this technique, was described as a “shocking achievement” in the field of tissue engineering by independent specialists.
According to 3DBio Therapeutics, a regenerative medicine business based in Queens, the new ear was manufactured in the same shape of the woman’s left ear. According to the business, the new ear, which was implanted in March, will continue to develop cartilage tissue, giving it the appearance and feel of a normal ear.
“It’s clearly a significant issue,” said Adam Feinberg, a Carnegie Mellon University professor of biomedical engineering and materials science and engineering. Dr. Feinberg is a co-founder of FluidForm, a regenerative medicine startup that also uses 3-D printing. He is not involved with 3DBio. “It demonstrates that this technology is no longer a ‘if,’ but a ‘when,'” he said.
3DBio released the outcomes of the woman’s reconstructive surgery in a press release. The corporation has not publicly published the technical details of the procedure, citing proprietary concerns, making it more difficult for other experts to evaluate. Federal regulators had approved the trial design and established tight production standards, according to the corporation, and the results will be published in a medical journal after the study was completed.
The 11-patient clinical research is still underway, and it’s possible that the transplants will fail or cause unexpected health issues. The replacement ear, however, is unlikely to be rejected by the body because the cells came from the patient’s tissue, according to doctors and corporate officials.
The success of 3DBio, which took seven years to achieve, is one of numerous recent advancements in the field of organ and tissue transplantation. A genetically engineered pig’s heart was transplanted into a 57-year-old man with heart disease in Maryland in January, prolonging his life by two months. Scientists are also working on ways to extend the life of donor organs so that they do not go to waste; Swiss surgeons revealed this week that a patient who received a three-day-preserved human liver a year later was still alive and well.
Featured Images: 3DBio
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