Help Bill! Bioprinting Skin, Muscle and Bone
Students operate mock 3D bioprinters in order to print tissue constructs of bone, muscle and skin for a fictitious trauma patient, Bill. The model bioprinters are made from ordinary materials— cardboard, dowels, wood, spools, duct tape, zip ties and glue (constructed by the teacher or the students)—and use squeeze bags of icing to lay down tissue layers. Student groups apply what they learned about biological tissue composition and tissue engineering in the associated lesson to design and fabricate model replacement tissues. They tangibly learn about the technical aspects and challenges of 3D bioprinting technology, as well as great detail about the complex cellular composition of tissues. At activity end, teams present their prototype designs to the class.
3D bioprinting is a novel engineer-created biomedical technology with the potential to revolutionize the field of tissue engineering and ultimately, organ transplantation. Currently, biomedical engineers and researchers use this technology to print and experiment with simpler tissues, with the aim to be able to print functional, complex organs in the future. By participating in this activity, students experience similar challenges as technology researchers and inventors, including setting workable printing parameters and accounting for blood vessels.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Operate a model/mock 3D bioprinter to print a model graft of skin, muscle or bone.
- Explain what 3D bioprinting is and describe the importance of this technology.
- Identify the different types of cells and structural components necessary to print a model graft of skin, muscle or bone.
- Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the prototype model grafts and of the bioprinting process.