The first bioprinted skin and bone samples designed to treat injured astronauts in space have been produced by scientists at the University Hospital of Dresden Technical University, in a collaborative project with the European Space Agency (ESA). In an article published on Monday in Nature Communications, researchers from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine (LRM) describe how they used 3D printing technology developed jointly between the MRC The process combined human blood plasma with plant material to enable it to work at zero-gravity, while calcium phosphate bone cement was added to human stem cells to support the growth of bone.
The first bioprinted skin and bone samples designed to treat injured astronauts in space have been produced by scientists at the University Hospital of Dresden Technical University, in a collaborative project with the European Space Agency (ESA). The 3D-printed materials were developed for use in an environment where injuries can take longer to heal and astronauts cannot access conventional treatment. The process combined human blood plasma with plant material to enable it to work at zero-gravity, while calcium phosphate bone cement was added to human stem cells to support the growth of bone.