Researchers may have just figured out completely transform fields like medicine and biology, thanks to an innovative new 3D-printing technique that could be used to produce objects ranging from tissue to organs, mouthguards, and hearing aids \u2014 all in a matter of seconds.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the result of a new technique developed by researchers at the Laboratory of Applied Photonics Devices within Switzerland\u2019s Ecole polytechnique f\u00e9d\u00e9rale de Lausanne. The technique starts with a translucent liquid, and slowly the object begins to take shape in a small, spinning container. The team says this method can be used to produce small objects \u201cwith unprecedented precision and resolution\u201d in only a brief amount of time \u2014 less than 30 seconds, from start to finish. Details about the technique have been published in the journal Nature Communications, and a spinoff of the laboratory called Readily3D has been established to commercialize this technique.<\/p>\n
Obviously, medicine could be a clear beneficiary of this new approach to 3D printing.<\/p>\n
\u201cConventional 3D printing techniques, known as additive manufacturing, build parts layer by layer,\u201d Readily3D CEO Damien Loterie explains. \u201cThe problem is that soft objects made that way quickly fall apart.\u201d The great thing about this new method is that the process can be used to make \u201ccells\u201d for objects that can apparently develop in a pressure-free 3D environment, and Loterie says the researchers have already worked with a surgeon to test the use of this technique to 3D-print a set of arteries. The result? \u201cExtremely encouraging,\u201d according to Loterie.<\/p>\n
To produce the objects, the 3D printer shoots a laser through translucent gel that\u2019s either a biological gel or liquid plastic. The process unfolds similar to the way in medical imaging whereby models of objects are built from surface scans. Right now, this technique can be used to make a two-centimeter structure with about the same diameter as a strand of hair \u2014 but the researchers are hopeful they can use this to quickly build bigger objects over time. \u201cThe laser hardens the liquid through a process of polymerization,\u201d says Readily3D CTO Paul Delrot. \u201cDepending on what we\u2019re building, we use algorithms to calculate exactly where we need to aim the beams, from what angles, and at what dose.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"http:\/\/ww-vb.mine.nu\/w108\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/1580530133_630_All-four-major-US-wireless-carriers-are-suffering-outages-right.png\")
<\/div>\n\n\t\tAndy is a reporter in Memphis who also contributes to outlets like Fast Company and The Guardian. When he\u2019s not writing about technology, he can be found hunched protectively over his burgeoning collection of vinyl, as well as nursing his Whovianism and bingeing on a variety of TV shows you probably don\u2019t like.\t<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n