KAY’SCORNER
10 MARCH2020|COMPUTERSHOPPER|ISSUE
The bionicwoman
AAACKINTHE1970s, there was
a popular TV series calledThe
SixxxMillion Dollar Man.Ithad
a gggreat opening sequence in
whhhich, followingthe test pilot
heeero’s plane crash, the
gooovernment scientists decide
thhhat “we have the technology to
rebuild this man”, whichthey
prrroceeded to do using cybernetic
paaarts that give him superhuman
strength and speed. In each
pppisode he’d perform amazing
feats and save the day. It was
great, and Iwanted some bionic
bits so Icould be heroic, too.
I’ve been waiting formedical
science to catch up ever since,
and it’s getting abit urgent. Fora
start, right now Icould do with
some bionic leg muscles to make
it abit easier to stride up hills
that have mysteriously got
steeper over Christmas, and the
bionic eyes would be good, too,
to avoid me having to paya
fortune forglasses.
While my chances of getting
the Six Million Dollar Man’s
strength and speed remain
unlikely,it’s amazing what is
being developed, especially using
3D printers. Ihavetoconfess
that until now,I’d written off 3D
printers as being very slow toys
that take forever to produce
something you don’t particularly
want (plastic survival whistle,
anyone?) and that you can buy
online and have delivered in
about the same time it takes
to print. However,itturns out
Iwas wrong.
Just recently,scientists from
the University of Warwick
printed abionic arm in just 10
hours using a3Dprinter.That’s
impressive enough, but what’s
even better is that the team,
along with their industrial
partners, have developed a
websitewhere people can
interact with the manufacturers
to order a3D-printed hand. The
patient enters the measurements
of their arm, says what colour
theywant their hand to be,and
10 hours later the hand will be
printed with the sensors built
intoitready foruse with moving
fingers andwrist, the ability to
grasp things, and clever controls
fortasks such as holding acup
foralength of time.
LIFETHROUGHALENS
The arm is by no means unique.
There are anumber of research
projects into3Dprinting of eyes
(or at least parts of eyes).
Researchers at Newcastle
University have printed an
artificial cornea that could
eventually be used forcornea
replacement. To do this, they
designed acurved, jelly-like
surface,thenprinted the lens as
afilm on topofit. Anyone who’s
ever cursed when the nozzles get
blocked on the inkjet printer and
felt theyhad it tough, spare a
thought forthe researchers who
described as ‘tricky’ finding the
right recipe foranink that’s thin
enough to squirt through a3D
printer’s nozzle,but will set into
the right jelly-like consistency.
Other researchers at the
University of Minnesota have
3D-printed light receptors on a
curved surface.This process uses
silver particles to put abase layer
on to the curve,thenprinted
photodiodes that convert light to
electricity using semiconducting
polymer materials, all in about an
hour,and can then recognise
light and shade,soholding out
the prospect of providing sight
forblind people.The research is
still along wayfrom creating a
full bionic eye, but this is the
same team that has developed
bionic skin that gives robots the
ability to feel, and 3D-printed a
bionic ear that covers acoil
antenna in aliving outer layer
created from silver nanoparticles
and cartilage-forming cells.
Meanwhile,researchers
from Rice University,Texas,
showed off a3D-printed
‘lung-mimicking air sac, that can
suck air in and out earlier this
year,and the same team also
successfully transplanted 3D
printed tissues containing liver
cells intomiceinafirststepto
repairing injured livers.
HEARTOFTHE MATTER
Another group,thistime at
TelAviv University in Israel,
has printed a‘vascularised
engineered heart’.This is
the first timeanyone has
successfully engineered
and printed an entire heart
completewith cells, blood
vessels, ventricles and
chambers. The heart was
made from human cells and
‘patient-specific biological
materials’.The materials serve
as bio-inks forprinting the heart.
The version created was only the
size of arabbit heart, but the
researchers saythere’s no reason
it couldn’t be made larger.
While transplants based on
a3D-printed heart are quitea
wayoff, arelated technique
that creates patches of ‘cardiac
tissue’madeupfrom the
patient’s own cardiac combined
with 3D biomaterials is closer.
The 3D biomaterials act as
temporary scaffolds,
mechanically supporting the
cells while theyare matured in
vitro.The patch would then be
transplanted intothe patient’s
heart. Over time,the biomaterials
gradually degrade,leaving a
functional living patch that
regenerates the heart.
While many of these projects
are still at the research phase,
3D-printed knees and hips are
already in use,and the new
custom arm-printing websiteis
up and running.
The Six Million Dollar Manmay
have been science fiction, but 3D
printers are turning it intoa
reality.One day, Imay get those
bionic muscles after all.
KAYEWBANK
Software guru andShopperlegend
[email protected]
It’s nowpossible tocreateartificiallimbs,eyes, earsandheartsthanksto3Dprinting.
KayEwbanklooksforward totheday whentechnologycanreplacehercreakingparts
Until now, I’dwrittenoff 3D printers as
being very slowtoys
