Feb 24 2015
Researchers from the University of Sheffield have successfully used a 3D printed guide to enable nerves injured in accidents to repair themselves.
The device, known as a nerve guidance conduit (NGC), is a network of miniature tubes, which guide the injured nerve ends towards each other, thereby enabling them to repair naturally.
The Sheffield team used this device to repair nerve damage in animal models, and believe that this technique can be replicated to treat several types of traumatic injury.
Patients with nerve injuries suffer from total loss of sensation in the injured area, which in many cases leave them in a debilitated state.
The current techniques of repairing nerve damage involve surgery to either suture or graft the nerve endings. These techniques frequently do not produce the required results.
Although currently some NGCs are being used in surgery, they are made from a restricted number of designs and materials, thereby making them applicable only for specific types of injury.
The method, which was worked upon at Sheffield’s Faculty of Engineering, utilizes Computer Aided Design (CAD) to design the devices. These devices are then manufactured using laser direct writing, which is a type of 3D printing. The key benefit is that it can be modified for any type of nerve damage or even customised to suit a specific patient.
The researchers applied the 3D printed guides to repair nerve injuries along with a new mouse model, which was created in Sheffield’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health, to determine nerve regrowth. Thus they were able to illustrate that the nerve repair (over an injury gap of 3mm, in a 21-day time frame) was successful.
The advantage of 3D printing is that NGCs can be made to the precise shapes required by clinicians. We’ve shown that this works in animal models, so the next step is to take this technique towards the clinic.
John Haycock, Professor of Bioengineering at Sheffield
Microstereolithography
The Sheffield research team used polyethylene glycol, which has bean approved for clinical application and is also appropriate for application in 3D printing. “Further work is already underway to investigate device manufacture using biodegradable materials, and also making devices that can work across larger injuries” says Dr Frederik Claeyssens, Senior Lecturer in Biomaterials at Sheffield.
Now we need to confirm that the devices work over larger gaps and address the regulatory requirements.
Fiona Boissonade, Professor of Neuroscience at Sheffield.
The research findings have been published in the journal Biomaterials, and the research was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council.
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