US experts use 3D technology to "print" artificial external ears

According to Singapore's "Lianhe Zaobao" on the 22nd, researchers at Cornell University in the United States have used bovine ear cells to print artificial ears in a three-dimensional (3D) printer and transplant them into the human body. This is good news for those who have lost all or part of their outer ears.

Researchers published a report in the Comprehensive Volume of the Public Science Library on the 20th that they used bovine ear cells to print artificial ears in a three-dimensional (3D) printer, which can be used for organ transplantation in children with congenital malformations.

Researchers first use a fast-rotating three-dimensional camera to capture three-dimensional information about several children's existing ears, and then input them into a computer. The three-dimensional printer will print the ear molds accordingly.

They then injected a special collagen gel into the mold, which contains cartilage-producing bovine ear cells. Within a few weeks thereafter, cartilage gradually increased and replaced the gel. Three months later, a flexible artificial outer ear appeared in the mold, and its function and appearance were similar to normal human ears.

It is understood that the main components of artificial ears currently used in the medical community are styrofoam or patients' rib tissue. The texture of the former is quite different from that of the human ear. The latter method is difficult and painful for the patient, and it is difficult to make an artificial ear that is both beautiful and practical.

Researchers believe that the advantage of 3D printing artificial ears is that they can be personalized “customized” to help people who have lost some or all of their outer ears.