Human Trials of 3D Printed Bone to Begin This Month as Chinese Unveil PCPrinter BCTM

There’s no doubt that bioprinting, along with various other medial applications within the the 3D printing space will change medicine significantly over the coming decades. We’ve seen tremendous progress being made across the board from 3D printed medical implants to 3D printed human tissue and prostheses which have helped thousands of individuals live fuller, more productive lives.

Back in March, we reported on a Chinese company called Xi’an Particle Cloud Advanced Materials Technology Co., Ltd., who had been making significant advancements in the development of a technique to 3D print bone implants. Back in March, after 5 years of R&D, Xi’an Particle Cloud announced that they had completed successful animal testing at the Department of Orthopedic Surgery in Xijin Hospital, on their 3D printed artificial bones. Using a printing process they call Filament Free Printing (FFP), the company is able to fabricate intricate bone structures which are completely biodegradable. When inserted into a rabbit’s body, the bone almost immediately began growing new cells on its surface, thus proving to be a success in treating bone loss and damage.

Now the company is targeting investors who could help them more rapidly bring this process to market, as well as human clinical trials which are scheduled for later this month and into June.

Last week, at an event which was jointly organized by Xi’an Particle Cloud Advanced Materials Technology Co., Xi’an Zhuoxi Technical Manager Co., Xi’an Technical Resources Market and Xi’an Technical Manager Society, the company unveiled their sophisticated FFP technology to the public, presenting their PCPrinter BCTM 3D Printer to investors, health care specialists and manufacturers.

The printer, which is sleek and robust, functions unlike many of the machines we are used to seeing. Using both UV light and heat, it is able to ‘laminate’ a binder material layer-by-layer until a complete bone structure or other object is fabricated.

“It can provide clinical patients with customized biodegradable 3D-printed artificial bone with physicochemical properties and biomimetic structure according to required size and shape of bone defects as well as inner pore of bones,” stated Jess Li from Xi’an Particle Cloud. “This printer is widely used in bone tissue regeneration, biological soft tissues, controlled drug release and cell tissues, providing new research tools in the field of life sciences, material science, tissue engineering and drug development.”

If the tests on humans are successful later this month and into June, the implications could be staggering for those suffering from major bone loss due to an accident or disease such as invasive tumors. The ability to regrow human bone in a safe, efficient manner, while controlling the exact areas and shape of bone growth would greatly reduce reliance on cadavers for bone grafts, and likely reduce the costs associated with such procedures.

“Particle Cloud is and will be focusing on human being’s health care in the coming decade,” stated the company. “With the hard-working win-win spirit, we stand firm, fear no difficulties, and will benefit the human kind.”

Let us know your thoughts on these recent breakthroughs and the introduction of this new machine by Xi’an Particle Cloud. Discuss in the 3D Printed Human Bone Implants forum thread on 3DPB.com.