Researchers from the University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht are working on a new 3D printer that can reproduce part of the human body. This allows, among other things, medicines to be tested outside the body.
The 3D printers that are now used place different layers on top of each other. However, this takes a lot of time, which reduces the survival rate of cells.
Researchers from UMC Utrecht are therefore working on a new technique together with colleagues from the technical university of Lausanne in Switzerland. Liquid gel is injected into a rotating container, after which it is illuminated with lasers from different angles.
This makes it possible to print objects such as a heart valve, a piece of a thigh or a meniscus in a short time. The researchers can also add stem cells to the gel.
Riccardo Levato, researcher at the Utrecht hospital, has received a grant of 1.8 million euros from the European Research Council for the development of new 3D models to study diseases.
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