Researchers believe 3D printing could help regenerate nerves

SASKATOON A new technique involving 3D printing could help with regenerating damaged nerves, according to University of Saskatchewan researchers.

“We know the human body actually has the function for regrowth and self-regeneration, but when the damage is really serious, they may lose the function to regrow,” said Liqun Ning, post-doctoral fellow in the Tissue Engineering Research Group at the U of S, and lead author of the research paper, which was published in the journal Biofabrication.

“With our method we can build a tissue scaffold, which can be used to regenerate those functions.”

In the current treatment, healthy nerves from one part of the body are grafted to the damaged nerve. In the new method being researched, the 3D printed hydrogel-based scaffolds can be used like a bridge; the scaffold is placed into the damaged part of the body to try to regenerate peripheral nerves.

“We have some hope to use new techniques to help people with nerve damage,” he said.

Although each side of the scaffold is smaller than a centimetre, the researchers were also able to create highly detailed and accurate 3D reconstructions of the scaffolds through the Canadian Light Source at the U of S.

According to Ning, the research is only the initial step for the purpose of nerve regeneration in human beings, but the scaffolds have great potential. Before the technique is implemented in medicine, researchers will have to go through the next steps, which include testing the method on animals, and then finally in clinical trials.

“There’s still a long way to go,” Ning said. “But we have confidence this can be solved in the near future.”