This artificial bone sample is an early action towards making 3D bioprinting a practical tool for emergency medicine in space. Credit: ESA-Remedia.
This synthetic bone sample is an early action towards making 3D bioprinting an useful tool for emergency situation medicine in space. An ESA R&D effort aims to develop bioprinting methods efficient in offering astronauts on a prolonged objective prepared access to the extra parts required for bone or skin grafts, and even complete internal organs.
3D bioprinting may soon be practical in the world, and could help meet the challenging conditions of spaceflight. Astronauts in absolutely no or low gravity lose bone density, for example, so fractures may be most likely in orbit or on Mars.
Or, treating a burn frequently includes a graft of skin taken from a patients body– workable on Earth with complete hospital care but more risky in space, as the secondary damage may not recover quickly.
Skin or bone can be bioprinted using a nutrient-rich bio-ink of human blood plasma, offered from the astronauts themselves. By working upside down– in minus 1g gravity– the team has actually shown they can most likely do it in area.
This bone sample becomes part of the first choice of items on the 99 Objects of ESA ESTEC website, a set of appealing, frequently unexpected artifacts assisting tell the story of over half a century of activity at ESAs technical heart.
By European Area Company (ESA).
April 11, 2022.
