A novel 3D printing technology produces strong, flexible, gel-like tubes that could improve heart bypass outcomes by replacing the human and synthetic veins currently used in surgery.
Summary: Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have developed a novel 3D printing technique to create strong, flexible, gel-like synthetic blood vessels that could potentially improve outcomes for heart bypass surgery by replacing the human and synthetic veins currently used. The new method involves printing tubular grafts made from a water-based gel, which are then reinforced using electrospinning to coat the grafts with biodegradable polyester molecules. Initial tests have shown that these synthetic vessels are as strong as natural blood vessels.
Three Key Takeaways:
- Improved Surgical Outcomes: The new 3D-printed synthetic vessels could reduce scarring, pain, and infection risk associated with the removal of human veins in heart bypass surgeries.
- Enhanced Integration: These synthetic grafts are designed to be flexible and can be produced in various thicknesses, which may improve their integration into the human body compared to current small synthetic grafts that often fail.
- Future Research and Applications: The next phase involves testing these synthetic vessels in animals, with plans to proceed to human trials, potentially offering better treatment options for patients with cardiovascular disease.
Strong, flexible, gel-like tube—created using a novel 3D printing technology—could improve outcomes for heart bypass patients by replacing the human and synthetic veins currently used in surgery to re-route blood flow, experts say.
The development of synthetic vessels could help limit scarring, pain, and infection risk associated with the removal of human veins in bypass operations of which some 20,000 are carried out in England each year. The products could also help alleviate the failure of small synthetic grafts, which can be hard to integrate into the body.
Novel 3D Printing Technique
In a two-stage process, a team of researchers led by the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering used a rotating spindle integrated into a 3D printer to print tubular grafts made from a water-based gel.
They subsequently reinforced the printed graft in a process known as electrospinning, which uses high voltage to draw out very thin nanofibers, coating the artificial blood vessel in biodegradable polyester molecules.
Tests showed the resulting products to be as strong as natural blood vessels.
The 3D graft can be made in thicknesses from 1 to 40 mm in diameter, for a range of applications, and its flexibility means that it could easily be integrated into the human body, the team says.
Future Research and Applications
The next stage of the study will involve researching the use of the blood vessels in animals, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, followed by trials in humans.
The research, published in Advanced Materials Technologies, was carried out in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University.
“Our hybrid technique opens up new and exciting possibilities for the fabrication of tubular constructs in tissue engineering,” says Faraz Fazal, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering and lead author, in a release.
Norbert Radacsi, PhD, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering and principal investigator, says in a release, “The results from our research address a long-standing challenge in the field of vascular tissue engineering—to produce a conduit that has similar biomechanical properties to that of human veins. With continued support and collaboration, the vision of improved treatment options for patients with cardiovascular disease could become a reality.”
Photo caption: Image of a 3D-printed blood vessel
Photo credit: Dr Norbert Radasci, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh