How 3D Printing Provides New Hope for Spinal Cord Patients - GrabCAD Blog

Spinal cord injuries are severe. Approximately 300,000 Americans suffer from these injuries, with about 18,000 new occurrences each year. There's often little hope for these patients to regain their mobility and use of their limbs. However, a new technique that helps nerve cells bridge the damage by growing through a scaffolding structure might one day change that. Dr. Mark Tuszynski, director of the Center for Neural Repair at the University of California, San Diego and a neurologist at the San Diego VA Center, has conducted research on using bioengineered fabricated structures to help the nerve structure. The method helps nerve cells to grow and actually repair the damage. Success with Lab Rats 3D bioprinting experts in Chen’s lab partnered with neural stem cell biology experts in Tuszynski's UCSD’s lab. So far, the innovation has been used in rats. Though the creation did not return the rats back to full functionality, they were able to move their limbs in a responsive and useful way. One month after implantation, rats that received the scaffolds showed reduced inflammation at the site of injury. The researchers also saw a large number of new nerve cells growing in the correct directions through the scaffolds. After […]