American doctors have achieved a major breakthrough by grafting for the first time a 3D bio-printed ear implant from cells taken from the patient and cultured in the laboratory.
The AuriNovo implant
Microtia is a birth defect affecting the outer part of the ear. While its less severe forms involve a minor, barely perceptible malformation of the flag, in some cases, this is limited to a small cluster of cartilage, or is even completely absent. Able to affect one or both ears, this condition generally impairs the patient’s hearing.
Currently, treatment options often involve plastic implants or reconstructions of the ear from the patient’s own cartilage, taken from their ribs. Since such a procedure is extremely invasive, the company 3DBio Therapeutics has developed a new approach to 3D print ears from cells taken from the affected ear.
A biopsy of the patient’s affected ear is first performed to remove cartilage cells called chondrocytes. Grown in the lab, these multiply and are then collected and mixed with collagen-based biological ink, 3D printed to form the implant AuriNovo.
Corresponding in size and shape to the unaffected ear, the reconstructed pinna grows over time, while retaining the flexibility, elasticity and appearance of the real organ.
A first clinical trial
A patient recently benefited from the first transplant of the implant AuriNovo in a phase 1/2a clinical trial, aimed at establishing the safety and efficacy of the procedure. Lead by 3DBio Therapeutics and the Microtia-Congenital Ear Deformity Institutethis work will involve the long-term follow-up (5 years) of a total of 11 subjects with microtia.
The possibility of 3D printing ears using cartilage cells has been the subject of work for many years. The company believes that this approach could not only offer patients with microtia a new, less invasive treatment option, but also pave the way for the cultivation of substitutes for other cartilaginous parts of the body, such as the nose or knees.
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