3D Printed Tissue Scaffold with Interconnected Pores
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tissue engineering scaffolds lack mechanical strength, have poor pore interpenetration, and uncontrollable porosity, leading to inadequate cell growth and vascularization, and do not match the anatomical structure of injured tissues and organs, limiting their clinical effectiveness.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the collection of medical image data to create a three-dimensional model, followed by additive manufacturing to produce a full-scale physical model with adjustable internal microstructure and surface treatment, ensuring biocompatibility and bioactivity, and verifying its structure and function to support living cell growth and tissue reconstruction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional scaffold preparation methods (fiber bonding, solvent casting/particulate leaching, melting, gas foaming, phase separation, microsphere sintering) are used, then a scaffold for tissue engineering can be obtained, but the scaffold lacks mechanical strength, has low degree of interpenetration of pores, and poor controllability of porosity and pore distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by systematically adjusting key parameters including porosity (30-80%), pore size (50-500 μm), interconnectivity (70-90%), and mechanical strength (0.5-5 MPa) to optimize scaffold performance. The additive manufacturing process enables precise control of these parameters, allowing the scaffold to achieve both high porosity for cell infiltration and adequate mechanical strength for structural support, resolving the contradiction between reliability and strength.
2Quantity of substance
If traditional scaffold preparation methods are used, then a scaffold can be produced, but the porosity and pore distribution are poorly controllable, influencing cell growth and vascularization
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs parameter changes by precisely controlling porosity (30-80%), pore size (50-500 μm), and interconnectivity (70-90%) through additive manufacturing process parameters. This enables accurate reproduction of physiological pore structures that promote cell growth and vascularization, achieving both high porosity and precise porosity control that traditional methods cannot simultaneously provide.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies dimensionality change by transitioning from two-dimensional surface structures to three-dimensional interconnected pore networks with controlled geometry. The additive manufacturing process creates complex 3D pore architectures with specific spatial distributions, enabling cells to infiltrate and vascularize throughout the entire scaffold volume, thereby achieving precise porosity control that directly influences biological functions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If traditional scaffold preparation methods are used, then a scaffold can be obtained, but the external structures do not coincide with anatomical structures of injured tissues and organs, causing individualized manufacturing requirements cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies copying by using medical imaging data (CT, MRI) to create accurate digital 3D models of the patient's specific anatomical defect. These digital models are then directly reproduced through additive manufacturing, creating custom scaffolds that precisely match the unique geometry of each patient's injured tissue or organ. This copying approach enables individualized manufacturing while maintaining ease of production through automated digital-to-physical fabrication processes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing medical imaging, 3D modeling, and structural design before actual scaffold fabrication. The digital 3D model is created and validated in advance to ensure anatomical matching, allowing the physical manufacturing process to proceed efficiently without requiring post-processing modifications. This preliminary digital planning enables customized scaffolds to be manufactured easily and accurately.
4Productivity
If a scaffold is used for tissue engineering, then tissue can be formed, but tissue rapidly forms on the outer edge while nutrient solution and cells fail to enter the center, causing necrosis of the substitute part
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies porous materials by creating a scaffold with high porosity (30-80%) and interconnected pore structures (70-90% interconnectivity) that enable efficient nutrient solution penetration and cell infiltration throughout the entire scaffold volume. The controlled pore size (50-500 μm) and 3D architecture allow nutrients to reach the center, preventing necrosis while maintaining rapid tissue formation on the outer edges, thereby resolving the contradiction between productivity and reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a living tissue and organ includes: collecting medical image information of a target tissue and organ, and converting the medical image information into three-dimensional image information; performing machine recognition and multiple feature comparisons on the three-dimensional image information, and generating a primary three-dimensional model according to physiological structure data of tissues and organs in a tissue and organ database and a residual profile of the target tissue and organ; generating a complete three-dimensional model by producing an internal microstructure of the primary three-dimensional model with reference to the tissue and organ database; producing a full-scale physical model based on the complete three-dimensional model by an additive manufacturing process; and performing a living cell-based tissue reconstruction in the full-scale physical model to produce a living tissue and organ.