3D printing techniques produce artifical ear from living cells

In a study published in PLOS ONE, Cornell University biomedical engineers and Weill Cornell Medical College physicians described how 3D printing and injectable gels made of living cells can fashion ears that are practically identical to a human ear. Over a three-month period, these flexible ears grew cartilage to replace the collagen that was used to mould them.

‘This is such a win-win for both medicine and basic science, demonstrating what we can achieve when we work together,’ said co-lead author Lawrence Bonassar, associate professor of biomedical engineering.

The novel ear may be the solution reconstructive surgeons have long wished for to help children born with ear deformity, said co-lead author Dr. Jason Spector, director of the Laboratory for Bioregenerative Medicine and Surgery and associate professor of plastic surgery at Weill Cornell in New York City.

‘A bioengineered ear replacement like this would also help individuals who have lost part or all of their external ear in an accident or from cancer,’ Spector said in a statement.