by Chris Cole
3D printing is fast becoming a more commercially available technology every year. With all the potential applications it likely stands to revolutionise several aspects of research and innovation. One such example of this appeared in the news just over a week ago, and it was from our very own local Newcastle University! The labs of Dr Steve Swioklo and Prof Che Connon got national attention for their work attempting to produce synthetic corneas with the potential for transplantation.
Reports estimate that 15 million people across the globe suffer from some form of corneal blindness (or at risk of becoming blind). Whilst the good news is these conditions can be treated by corneal transplant, there is still a large obstacle due to the lack of donor corneas for the patients. Using 3D printing it appears there is a potential way around this problem. In their work published in Experimental Eye Research, they detail their methodology of creating a “bio-ink”, made with a mix of human corneal stromal stem cells, alginate and collagen. The ink is then used with a 3D printer in order to produce an object matching the shape of a human cornea. By culturing the synthetic cornea, the stem cells are then able to grow around the cornea structure, effectively replicating/ imitating a healthy human cornea.
Although it’s easy (and correct) to be excited by such stories, which almost seem straight out of science fiction for how futuristic they appear, it will likely be several years before this technique undergoes clinical testing and comes into clinical practice. Still, the amazing research sets an example of the potential benefits of 3D printing to personalised medicine and of the high calibre of research that researchers at Newcastle University produce.
Learn more: Isaacson A, Swioklo S, Connon CJ (2018) “3D bioprinting of a corneal stroma equivalent” Experimental Eye Research 173: 188-193
https://ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2018/05/first3dprintingofcorneas/