Spinal implants to regenerate spinal cords in injured mice were successfully bioprinted. A 3D biomimetic hydrogel scaffold was printed and customized to the mice with spinal cord damage. The scaffold was then filled with spinal cord stem cells (know as “neural progenitor cells”) which facilitated spinal cord regeneration, via axons’ regrowth. The mice regained partial movement of its hind legs.
Regenerative medicine is empowering the medical community to rehabilitate, cure and repair the human body. Bio-printing related applications are expected to soon permit bone replacement, custom-fitted prosthetics, organ replacement and nerve repairing. These and other regenerative medical technologies are expected to also significantly extend the healthy human lifespan soon.