Medical Application of the Month: Discovering Micro 3D Printing

How can micro 3D printing technology revolutionize the medical sector and advance research? Can it be used to create medical devices, treatments for various forms of disease, or even functional tissues and organs? Boston Micro Fabrication is asking itself all these questions and has joined a program led by the University of Nottingham, specifically its Center for Additive Manufacturing. The “Dial Up” project is funded by an EPSRC grant and aims to “standardize 3D printing in medical technology and life science applications.” BMF’s micro-printing technology is currently being used to develop various medical applications: intestinal patches to combat certain chronic diseases, microstructures to control cell phenotype, etc.

The benefits of additive manufacturing for the medical sector need no further introduction. Healthcare professionals are increasingly interested in this technology, which enables them to develop tailor-made devices and improve their tools or even their surgical training aids, for example. Depending on the technology used, it also enables high levels of precision and resolution, mimicking a micro-injection molded part. This is one of the added values of Boston Micro Fabrication’s micro-stereolithography technology. It offers microprinting solutions that are repeatable, precise and accurate – resolution can reach 2 microns. By relying on its 3D printers, it is possible to achieve very fine features and complex geometries, often sought-after in a sector as demanding as healthcare.

Professors Ricky Wildman and Felicity Rose from the University of Nottingham’s Biodiscovery Institute with BMF’s CEO John Kawola

In this context, the Dial Up project tests BMF’s micro-printing process and develops several concrete applications for the medical sector. The first concern is intestinal diseases: the aim is to create a patch capable of regenerating inflamed intestinal tissue. The patch is to be placed inside the patient’s body and must, therefore, be non-intrusive. In addition, the materials used must have suitable characteristics for the body’s own cells. These constraints cannot be overcome by all printing technologies.