3D

U of T researchers develop portable 3D skin printer to repair deep wounds

ullahnor — Wed, 02 May 2018 19:58:54 +0000

U of T researchers develop portable 3D skin printer to repair deep wounds

ullahnor Wed, 05/02/2018 - 15:58

Cutline

From left to right, Associate Professor Axel Guenther, Navid Hakimi and Richard Cheng have created the first ‘skin printer’ that forms tissues in situ for application to wounds (photo by Liz Do)

Liz Do

Topic

Global Lens

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

University of Toronto researchers have developed a handheld 3D skin printer that deposits even layers of skin tissue to cover and heal deep wounds. The team believes it to be the first device that forms tissue in situ, depositing and setting in place, within two minutes or less.

The research, led by PhD student Navid Hakimi under the supervision of Associate Professor Axel Guenther of the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, and in collaboration with Dr. Marc Jeschke, director of the Ross Tilley Burn Centre at Sunnybrook Hospital and professor of immunology at the Faculty of Medicine, was recently published in the journal Lab on a Chip.

For patients with deep skin wounds, all three skin layers – the epidermis, dermis and hypodermis – may be heavily damaged. The current preferred treatment is called split-thickness skin grafting, where healthy donor skin is grafted onto the surface epidermis and part of the underlying dermis.

Split-thickness grafting on large wounds requires enough healthy donor skin to traverse all three layers, and sufficient graft skin is rarely available. This leaves a portion of the wounded area “ungrafted” or uncovered, leading to poor healing outcomes.

Although a large number of tissue-engineered skin substitutes exist, they are not yet widely used in clinical settings.

“Most current 3D bioprinters are bulky, work at low speeds, are expensive and are incompatible with clinical application,” explains Guenther.

This gif shows the 3D skin printer in action (courtesy of Navid Hakimi via GIPHY)

The research team believes their in-situ skin printer is a platform technology that can overcome these barriers, while improving the skin-healing process – a major step forward.

The handheld skin printer resembles a white-out tape dispenser – except the tape roll is replaced by a microdevice that forms tissue sheets. Vertical stripes of “bio ink,” made up of protein-based biomaterials including collagen, the most abundant protein in the dermis, and fibrin, a protein involved in wound healing, run along the inside of each tissue sheet.

“Our skin printer promises to tailor tissues to specific patients and wound characteristics,” says Hakimi. “And it’s very portable.”

The handheld device is the size of a small shoe box and weighs less than a kilogram. It also requires minimal operator training and eliminates the washing and incubation stages required by many conventional bioprinters.

The researchers plan to add several capabilities to the printer, including expanding the size of the coverable wound areas. Working with Jeschke’s team at Sunnybrook Hospital, they plan to perform more in vivo studies. They hope that one day they can begin running clinical trials on humans, and eventually revolutionize burn care.

Plastic makes perfect? U of T researchers discover plastic helps them stabilize protein molecules to generate 3D structures

ullahnor — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 18:00:00 +0000

Plastic makes perfect? U of T researchers discover plastic helps them stabilize protein molecules to generate 3D structures

ullahnor Tue, 02/07/2017 - 13:00

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U of T researchers Bryan T. Eger (left), Jana Broecker (middle) and Oliver P. Ernst (right) have discovered a way to stabilize proteins to make them available for 3D structure determination (photo by Sebastian Fiedler)

Heidi Singer

Author legacy

Heidi Singer

Topic

University of Toronto scientists have discovered a better way to extract proteins from the membranes that encase them, making it easier to study how cells communicate with each other to create human health and disease.

In a study published today on the cover of the journal Structure, Jana Broecker, a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Biochemistry Professor Oliver P. Ernst, along with colleagues has discovered that a type of plastic or polymer – originally developed by the auto industry – can be used to better stabilize crucial proteins, thereby making them available for 3D structure determination.

The ability to determine the 3D atomic structure of protein molecules is critical in understanding how they work and how they will respond to drug therapies.

Along with Broecker's research which will help stabilize proteins, U of T researchers led by U of T Scarborough PhD student Ali Punjani earlier this week released a study showing that they've developed a new set of machine learning algorithms to generate 3D structures of tiny protein molecules, thus revolutionizing the development of drug therapies for a range of diseases.

New look for U of T's Faculty of Information

ullahnor — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 15:41:02 +0000

New look for U of T's Faculty of Information

ullahnor Tue, 10/25/2016 - 11:41

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Renovation on the fourth floor of the Faculty of Information features group study hubs (photo by Noreen Ahmed-Ullah)

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Author legacy

Noreen Ahmed-Ullah

Topic

Our Community

Faculty of Information

If you’ve ever flown first class in an executive pod, then you’ll appreciate the creature comforts behind the new study pods at U of T’s Faculty of Information.

A semi-enclosed space, comfy chair, movable desk, a foot stool to stretch your legs and your very own desk lamp and electrical outlet – what else could you possibly need?

“It’s perfect,” said Azel Mulagulova, a first-year master’s student in the faculty, which is also known as the iSchool. “There’s privacy. It’s very comfortable to work in and very efficient in the way it’s designed.”

The individual study pods are just part of the upgrades at the Faculty of Information, in which the fourth and fifth floors of the northern part of the Robarts Library complex have been completely redesigned and refurbished.

Azel Mulagulova works on her readings in a study pod at the iSchool

The renovation includes group study spaces, more interactive labs for digital preservation and database research, a soundproof Skype room and an exhibition wall (which will be replaced annually) for students in the Museum Studies program to practice curatorial techniques and designing exhibit spaces.

The faculty includes 681 graduate students in both the Information Studies and Museum Studies programs. While the new spaces will be available 24 hours a day to students in the faculty, they’re also open to other students from across the university from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

“The impetus for adding updated smart boards and computers, gathering spaces, classrooms – and an abundance of electrical outlets – was to transform [this space] into a collaborative, experiential and experimental space,” says Dean Wendy Duff. “By giving students and professors a diverse range of study spaces: individual study pods, small and large group study rooms, as well as labs and large seminar rooms, they can pursue further excellence in teaching, service, studies and research.”

A Museum Studies student works on a display at the exhibition wall (photo by Charlotte Gagnier)

Gone, for the most part, are the days of endless study carrels. Instead, the space is using more open, wider tables that allow students to spread out their books. The tables also have easy-to-access electrical outlets.

The Semaphore Demo Room on the fourth floor will be a bookable space for events and design activities that focus on emerging technologies. For example, it’s been used recently for virtual reality demonstrations.

Both floors have been updated with new seating, more interactive classroom spaces and futuristic-looking group study hubs, each custom-built to tuck into the polygonal shapes in the north-facing windows of the Claude Bissell building, which is part of the Robarts complex.

The seven hubs, which feature their own motion-sensitive lighting, outlets and table space are often filled with people working together on assignments.

“They’re the second most popular spots here after the individual pods,” said Kathleen O’Brien, communications and development officer for the faculty. “Students are encouraged to gather and talk about their projects.”

A virtual reality demonstration at the iSchool (photo by Charlotte Gagnier)

Nia Technologies brings 3D prosthetic printing to developing countries

lavende4 — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 17:48:38 +0000

Nia Technologies brings 3D prosthetic printing to developing countries lavende4 Mon, 04/18/2016 - 13:48

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Matt Ratto (left) with orthopedic staff at CoRSU Hospital, Uganda

Dominic Ali

Author legacy

Dominic Ali

Topic

Social Entrepreneurship

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 30 million people in low-income countries require prosthetic limbs, braces or other assistive devices. To make things even tougher, the vast majority who require these devices don’t have access to rehabilitation services.

Until now, that is.

Thanks to a Canadian non-profit social enterprise called Nia Technologies – supported by University of Toronto research – children with disabilities in developing countries may soon have better access to high-quality and better-fitting prosthetics.

Nia is currently testing its innovative 3D printing technology to help improve the lives of the disabled in developing countries. Nia’s flagship technology, called 3D PrintAbility, was developed in collaboration with the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information Associate Professor Matt Ratto, who also serves as director of the Semaphore Research Cluster and as Nia’s chief science officer.

“It has been incredibly validating to see how quickly clinical practitioners are able to adopt and even extend the cutting edge technologies we have provided to produce patient outcomes that potentially leapfrog our capacity in the developed world,” says Ratto.

Perhaps the best testament to Nia’s work was its very first patient, a spirited four-year-old Ugandan girl named Roseline who was born without a right foot. Roseline was outfitted with a 3D-printed prosthetic socket that was manufactured using Nia’s 3D PrintAbility. “With her 3D PrintAbility socket in place, Roseline was able to walk and run alongside other children for the first time in her life,” says Jerry Evans, CEO of Nia.

3D PrintAbility is a set of software tools that combines 3D scanning, modelling, and printing to produce customized prosthetics and orthotics for individuals with disabilities. Nia tested its devices in Uganda last year and will revisit the country in Spring 2016 and expand its trials into other developing countries in the coming year.

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Nia’s prosthetics are made from high strength nylon, using consumer grade 3D printers that are available off-the-shelf in North America. The developers are pleased with the early results.

“Preliminary research shows that by using 3D PrintAbility, technologists in developing countries can produce well-fitting devices in 1.5 days instead of the usual 5 days,” says Evans.

As a social enterprise, Nia works towards establishing local expertise in developing countries. By training technologists to use 3D PrintAbility, Nia is transferring knowledge and skills that will help them help more people in their communities. During the initial clinical trial in 2015, the team in Uganda produced prosthetic sockets for about 40 children and youth with lower limb disabilities who ranged in age from 4 to 25.

Currently, 3D PrintAbility produces transtibial (below-the-knee) prosthetic sockets and ankle-foot orthoses (braces). But Nia hopes to add other orthopaedic devices in the future that will help more children like Roseline.

When Roseline tried walking with her new 3D PrintAbility prosthetic for the first time, she confirmed the value of Nia’s mission to its CEO. “It is in those magical moments that all the messy and hard work of innovation comes together and makes sense,” says Evans. “Seeing Roseline walk gave me a glimpse of how 3D PrintAbility could be of great value to other children and society at large.”

3D

U of T researchers develop portable 3D skin printer to repair deep wounds

Plastic makes perfect? U of T researchers discover plastic helps them stabilize protein molecules to generate 3D structures

Read more about Punjani's research

New look for U of T's Faculty of Information

Nia Technologies brings 3D prosthetic printing to developing countries