3D Printed Ears To The Rescue

I am not quite sure just how many people you know who actually cut off their own ears by purpose, or have their ears removed from the sides of their head by accident, but in either case, the victim will have no cause for worry where spare parts are concerned, especially since there are no miracle workers around these days to simply speak healing of a hastily cut off ear, unlike 2,000 years or so ago. Researchers over at the Hangzhou Dianzi University in China have successfully unveiled their Regenovo 3D printer, which will be different from other more familiar 3D printers in the market that play nice with plastic or metal dust, the Regenovo will be able to print out living tissue – including the tiny ears that you see above.

This is not the first team who are capable of printing out “spare parts” in 3D glory for the ordinary man on the street, as it has been done before in the past, including a team over at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. I suppose the age of “Repo Men” might be upon us sooner rather than later, don’t you think so? Other than ears, what do you think the most suitable body part would benefit from a 3D printer?

Edwin Kee
Categories: Gadgets, Medical
Tags: 3d printer