Scientists Develop 'Glue Gun' That 3D Prints Bone Grafts Directly Onto Fractures

"Researchers have modified a standard glue gun to 3D print a bone-like material directly onto fractures," reports LiveScience, "paving the way for its use in operating rooms." The device, which has so far been tested in rabbits, would be particularly useful for fixing irregularly shaped fractures during surgery, the researchers say.

"To my knowledge, there are virtually no previous examples of applying the technology directly as a bone substitute," study co-author Jung Seung Lee, a biomedical engineer at Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea, told Live Science in an email. "This makes the approach quite unique and sets it apart from conventional methods...." "Further studies in larger animal models are needed before the technology can be used on humans," the article points out.

Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader fahrbot-bot for sharing the article.

Re:

[ceoyoyo]

The South Koreans would like a word. Oh, and MIT and Harvard.

Re:

[backslashdot]

What will they do after they run out of immigrants to catch? They will go after a different pariah group. And so on.

Recall this poem from Martin Nemoller:

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for

Re:

[ravenshrike]

Does anyone else find it amusing that this dude just praised the only extant fascist government while insinuating that the US was turning to fascism? No? Just me?

There's nothing "3D printing" about this

[Anonymous Coward]

The researchers developed a PCL/HA formulation of glue sticks that can be used with a standard glue gun you'd buy from a hardware store for repair bones in-situ.

Re:There's nothing "3D printing" about this

[CaptQuark]

I can understand your confusion. From the first link to the LiveScience page it appears it is just applied on top of a break. If you look at the article in the deeper link you will see that first image just shows the antibacterial absorption from the material. The complete image on the Cell website shows the added material was used to replace a missing section of the bone wider than the diameter of the bone. This indeed would be considered 3D additive printing. https://www.cell.com/device/fu... [cell.com]

Due to the uneven and ragged edges of broken bones, external 3D printed inserts would require detailed scanning and printing before insertion. The hot fill material molds to the existing bone ends and provides scaffolding for bone regrowth, additional calcium, and antibiotics in the existing cavity before closing the wound. I think this would be a great addition to trauma hospitals and military field hospitals given the relatively small size of the extrusion device.

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[cerberusss]

Mod parent up, very insightful summary.

Alternative...

[ambrandt12]

... just run to Home Depot and get some JB Weld 5-minute epoxy! Or, just wait for OCP to start mass producing Robocop body parts :-)