Vietnamese scientists, along with their collaborators, have developed a highly flexible micro soft robotic arm capable of navigating through the human body like an endoscopic surgical tool, while also directly printing biological materials onto the surfaces of organs and tissues.
The research team at the Medical Robotics Laboratory, University of New South Wales, Australia, led by Dr. Đỗ Thanh Nhỏ and PhD candidate Mai Thành Thái, has created a soft robotic arm capable of 3D bioprinting directly within the body (F3DB). Their findings were published in Advanced Science in March.
The F3DB device features a three-axis printing head that can bend, with a rotating end that enables the “printing” of biological materials through a small nozzle. The system generates movements using hydraulics controlled from the outside. Due to its small size, the F3DB can be inserted into the human body similarly to an endoscope through the mouth or rectum, allowing it to directly 3D print onto the surfaces of organs and tissues. This means the machine can create structures integrated with living cells in various shapes (similar to tissues) for implantation inside the body. These structures can naturally integrate with the human body and can be used to regenerate damaged tissues in internal organs such as the intestines, stomach, liver, kidneys, heart, lungs, and even blood vessels.
Currently, there is no 3D printing technology in the world capable of printing directly inside a living body, designed as a multifunctional endoscopic surgical tool. The research team has filed a patent application for this technology.
The F3DB device performing 3D bioprinting on organ surfaces. (Photo: NVCC)
In an interview from Australia, Dr. Đỗ Thanh Nhỏ, Director of the Medical Robotics Laboratory, stated that the project started in 2021 and is the result of extensive research by him and his colleagues on soft robotic technology used in minimally invasive surgeries and advanced 3D printing. He consulted many researchers in the field of biomaterials and asked them how to implant 3D biological materials into the body, most of whom replied that open surgery was necessary. However, this process carries risks of infection and significant blood loss, which concerned him greatly.
He explained that the currently available 3D printed biological structures are created outside the body, and they are very soft and fragile during the implantation process. These 3D biological materials may not be suitable for the tissue or organ surfaces they are implanted into, leading to suboptimal interactions with damaged tissues. This is why his team was determined to develop a device for direct bioprinting inside the body while ensuring safety and high integration upon contact.
The biggest challenge was to create a small and flexible robotic device that could still move in multiple directions with functionalities similar to the 3D heads of current devices. Initially, they considered using rigid cables typically used in current robotic surgical systems, but these cables were difficult to control due to high friction. At the same time, the team successfully developed ultra-thin artificial muscle fibers and decided to combine them in their experiments. Ultimately, the F3DB device emerged, which not only prints directly inside the body but also leverages the body’s living environment to optimize the growth process of integrated living cells within the biological materials. The device can also be used as a multifunctional endoscopic surgical tool to remove cancerous tumors and clean the area before directly bioprinting on the wound, thereby accelerating the healing process.
A robot assisting in 3D bioprinting. (Video: Reuters).
The research team tested the F3DB in an artificial rectum and on the surfaces of pig kidneys and hearts, using various materials (with mechanical properties similar to biological materials) such as chocolate and synthetic gel to accurately print the desired shapes. To demonstrate the feasibility of the technology, the team also experimented with biological materials integrated with living cells. The results showed that the living cells were not adversely affected by the 3D printing process; most of the cells remained viable, and seven days after printing, the tissue volume increased fourfold.
The F3DB system can also redirect to other areas after completing printing in one location, leading researchers to expect that the robot could cover a wider surface area of internal organs (such as the colon, stomach, heart, and bladder). Patients needing replacements for damaged organs or parts, especially cancer patients suffering from gastrointestinal cancer, could benefit from this technology due to the low processing cost of F3DB, its single-use capability, and reduced risk of infection.
Professor Nigel Lovell, head of the School of Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Tyree Institute of Health Technology, stated that there are currently no commercial devices on the market capable of directly 3D printing biological materials onto tissues/cells within the body. Although some technologies have been tested for treating burns on the skin surface, they are quite rigid and difficult to use. “The F3DB technology is novel and could revolutionize the field of 3D bioprinting and endoscopic surgery,” he said.
Dr. Đỗ Thanh Nhỏ discusses the new soft robotic device for 3D bioprinting, which can be used in cardiology and neurology, navigating through the aorta, into the heart, or into cerebral blood vessels for stroke patients. (Photo: NVCC)
Dr. Đỗ Thanh Nhỏ (38 years old), born in Gò Dầu District, Tây Ninh Province, into a family of farmers. In 2004, he enrolled in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and was selected for a talented engineer class specializing in manufacturing engineering. In 2011, he received a full scholarship for a PhD program in surgical robotics at the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Dr. Nhỏ completed his postdoctoral research at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), USA. He joined the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia as a senior lecturer (Scientia) and established the Medical Robotics Laboratory.
In 2022, Dr. Nhỏ received the “Research Scholar” award from Google (USA), aimed at outstanding young professors worldwide working in human-machine interaction. His main research focus is on minimally invasive surgical robots for cardiology and gastrointestinal cancer, 3D bioprinting, soft robotics, artificial muscles, smart fabrics, cardiac assist devices, human enhancement devices, and emotional rehabilitation devices.
