Create human bones from stem cells and 3D printing technology

American company EpiBone succeeded in creating bone from human cells, opening a revolution in medicine.

New way of treating fractures: Bundle with a 3D printed material frame

New method of creating bone from human cells

According to Live Science, human bones are the second most replaced part in the world, after blood, with a total cost of about $ 5 billion a year. If a healthy bone is lost due to an accident or disease, or congenital anomaly, the current solution is to replace the bone or animal bones of the donor. However, it is very easy for rejection complications, leading to infection or transplantation errors after surgery.

Another safer way, is to cut bones in another area of ​​the body to join the needed area. This is the best solution for patients who need bone graft. However, the consequence is that the areas of the body that lack bone will move with difficulty.

American film critic Roger Ebert, who lost his jawbone for cancer, also had to cut his hip and shoulder bones to put them on his jaw. For children with congenital skeletal deformities, the problem is even more serious because the bone system is not fully developed.

3D skeleton frame of EpiBone.(Photo: EpiBone).

Many methods are being investigated to solve this problem, such as using 3D printing technology to create parts of the bone that need to be implanted, suitable for each patient's disability, or using stem cell methods to Support bone regeneration.

EpiBone's new method is a natural combination of these trends. First, the patient will receive a CT scan to get the correct 3D image of the bone that needs to be designed and form a frame. Then, a fat sample from the patient will be extracted to the stem cells. Stem cells will grow on a 3D skeleton to form a complete bone graft.

The skeleton and stem cells will be grown in a special growth chamber, called a bioreactor , simulating the same conditions as the human body. The temperature, humidity, acidity and nutritional components must be at the right level so that stem cells can transform into bone growth cells (osteoblasts) on the 3D skeleton.

After three weeks, the 3D skeleton will turn into a human bone with the right shape for each patient. Due to the development of the patient's stem cells, the probability of being eliminated by the body is very small.

Many studies have to be done before officially applying this technique to humans, although the artificial bone transplantation on pigs has been successful. The scientific basis in this method is that stem cells can turn into any type of cell in the body, if appropriate conditions are simulated. Although there are many difficulties, the research team believes that bone deformities or bone injury accidents will be repelled with this new technology.