The Applied Phonic Devices Laboratory of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the Swiss start-up Readily3D, an EPFL spin-off, are developing a bioprinting technique to manufacture a miniaturized version of a human pancreas .
Testing treatments
The goal of this work is to be able to test treatments against diabetes, a pathology that affects nearly 463 million people worldwide, according to the European Diabetes Center. It is also the leading cause of non-accident amputations and increases the risk of myocardial infarction by eight. The stakes around its treatment are therefore considerable.
Scientists work on the pancreas because it is this organ that secretes insulin. This hormone helps the body regulate glucose, an essential source of energy. Diabetes occurs when a person does not naturally produce insulin or use it effectively.
A biological gel made up of stem cells
To make this artificial pancreas, researchers are using 3D bioprinting, a medical application of additive manufacturing processes to produce biological tissues. In practice, they use “biological gel” containing stem cells from the person with diabetes.
This material is inserted into the “Tomolite” 3D printer designed by the Readily3D start-up (photo below). It is crossed by a laser which solidifies it thanks to the polymerization process (assembly of several identical molecules to form a larger one). The process only lasts thirty seconds.
Print in one block
“One of the main advantages of the technique is thus the possibility of manufacturing a part in a single block, which is particularly interesting in the case of printing soft tissues such as organs.“, details Paul Delrot, CTO of Readily3D, interviewed by the EPLF.
Thanks to this bio-printed pancreas, “patients would no longer have to test a whole host of drugs with sometimes painful side effects before finding the one that works“, adds Damien Loterie, director of the start-up. Indeed, the technique makes it possible to manufacture personalized models according to the stem cells of each patient, and therefore to their particularities.
Create the first functional fabric model
This work is promising but remains preliminary. However, things could accelerate because the EPLF and the Readily3D start-up have joined a multidisciplinary consortium, alongside the University of Naples and AstraZeneca, to produce the first functional tissue model in three years. The project called “Enlight” received a contribution of 3.6 million euros from the Horizon 2020 European Innovation Fund.
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