Korean researchers make '50x cheaper' 3D printed human skin using hybrid printer

Researchers from Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea have developed an efficient and low-cost method for 3D printing human skin. Their hybrid cell 3D printing system contains both extrusion and inkjet modules.

3D printed skin is seen by many as the future of reconstructive surgery. Although doctors can do pretty amazing things with skin grafts—chopping bits of skin off your body (or someone else’s) and adding it to a damaged area—the ability to create and implant entirely new skin could make surgeries easier, safer, and less traumatic for patients.

The secret to the Korean researchers’ new skin-printing 3D printer is its two simultaneous deposition methods: extrusion and jetting. The printer uses extrusion and inkjet modules at the same time, allowing for the creation of the collagen-based material with a PCL membrane. The combination of these two substances produces something that closely resembles human skin.

Just being able to fabricate 3D printed skin is an amazing achievement, but Cho and the team say that there are other major benefits to their 3D printing method when compared with other techniques.

"Significantly, our new method is around 50 times cheaper than alternative methods, and requires 10 times less base material,” Cho said. “We hope that this new single-step process could provide an attractive and useful platform for engineering fully functional human skin models.”

robo-hunter.com

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