Bio-printed Nerve Conduit with Biodegradable Scaffold
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current nerve conduits face challenges in accurately matching nerve tissue thickness and shape, and existing materials like non-degradable silicone tubes can cause chronic inflammation and calcification, making them cumbersome to remove after nerve regeneration.
Innovation Solution
A method using 3D bio-printing to create a nerve conduit by printing bio-ink comprising neuroregenerative materials on a porous polymer scaffold, which includes hydrogel, neuroregenerative factors, and cells, allowing for patient-specific configurations and optimized immune response.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If non-degradable silicone tube is used as nerve conduit, then nerve regeneration can be guided and protected, but chronic inflammation, calcification, and pain occur due to material remaining in body
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from non-degradable silicone to biodegradable polymer, transforming the material's lifecycle from permanent to temporary. This allows the conduit to fulfill its guiding function during nerve regeneration and then safely degrade, eliminating chronic inflammation and calcification issues while maintaining structural integrity during the critical regeneration period.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a biodegradable polymer scaffold that serves as a temporary structure during nerve regeneration. The scaffold is designed to degrade after fulfilling its guiding function, similar to a disposable solution that eliminates the need for removal surgery and prevents long-term complications associated with permanent materials.
2Reliability
If autogenous nerve graft is performed, then nerve function can be restored when direct anastomosis is impossible, but matching thickness and shape is difficult and donor site morbidity occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating a conduit with spatially varying properties - the porous polymer scaffold has different pore sizes, densities, and structural characteristics at different locations to match the specific anatomical requirements of the nerve defect site. This allows precise matching of thickness and shape without relying on donor nerve characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables customization of conduit parameters (diameter, length, porosity, wall thickness) to precisely match the specific nerve defect characteristics. This eliminates the size-matching limitations of autogenous grafts by allowing the conduit to be manufactured with exact specifications required for the injured nerve.
3Ease of manufacture
If direct end-to-end anastomosis is performed, then nerve connection is simple, but accurate matching of cut surfaces is almost impossible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a nerve conduit as an intermediary structure between the severed nerve ends. This mediator provides a physical bridge that guides axonal regrowth across the gap, eliminating the need for precise direct surface matching while maintaining the simplicity of the surgical procedure. The conduit's internal structure facilitates natural nerve regeneration without requiring complex microsurgical alignment.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for preparing of a nerve conduit using bio-printing technology and a nerve conduit prepared by the same, and it can easily prepare a nerve conduit by simulating a nerve bundle and nerve tissue, and the like, by three-dimensionally printing bio-ink comprising a neuronal regeneration material on one side of a porous polymer scaffold.