Lifelike ears created with 3D printing - From: AAP - February
21, 2013 RESEARCHERS say they have engineered artificial human
ears that look and act like the real thing thanks to 3D
printing, giving hope to patients missing all or part of their
ears. The new ears, practically identical to human ones, could
provide the solution long sought by reconstructive surgeons to
treat thousands of children born with the congenital deformity
microtia, along with those who suffered ear loss to cancer or in
an accident. In a study published online in the PLOS ONE
journal, Cornell biomedical engineers and Weill Cornell Medical
College physicians said the flexible ears grew cartilage over
three months to replace the collagen used to mold them. "This is
such a win-win for both medicine and basic science,
demonstrating what we can achieve when we work together," said
co-lead author Lawrence Bonassar, associate professor of
biomedical engineering at Cornell. Bonassar and his colleagues
first constructed the ears with a digitised