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Robot Skin 3D Printer Close to First-in-Human Clinical Trials

In just two years a robotic device that prints a patient’s own skin cells directly onto a burn or wound could have its first-in-human clinical trials. The 3D bioprinting system for intraoperative skin regeneration developed by Australian biotech start-up Inventia Life Science has gained new momentum thanks to major investments from the Australian government and two powerful new partners, world-renowned burns expert Fiona Wood and leading bioprinting researcher Gordon Wallace.

Codenamed Ligō from the Latin “to bind”, the system is expected to revolutionize wound repairs by delivering multiple cell types and biomaterials rapidly and precisely, creating a new layer of skin where it has been damaged. The novel system is slated to replace current wound healing methods that simply attempt to repair the skin, and is being developed by Inventia Skin, a subsidiary of Inventia Life Science.

“When we started Inventia Life Science, our vision was to create a technology platform with the potential to bring enormous benefit to human health. We are pleased to see how fast that vision is progressing alongside our fantastic collaborators. This Federal Government support will definitely help us accelerate even faster,” said Dr. Julio Ribeiro, CEO, and co-founder of Inventia.

Seeking to support Australia’s biomedical and medical technology sector, the Australian government announced it will invest AU$1 million (US$723,085) to supercharge the Ligõ 3D bioprinting system for regenerating skin. The project is one of 21 initiatives to receive support from the Federal Government’s BioMedTech Horizons (BMTH) program, operated by MTPConnect, a non-profit organization aiming to accelerate the rate of growth of the medical technologies, biotechnologies, and pharmaceuticals sector in Australia.

Late in July 2020, Australia’s Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt announced that the program’s funding is expected to move the device faster into first-in-human clinical trials. Separately, the team also received funding from the Medical Research Future Fund Stem Cell Therapies Mission to collaborate with stem cell expert Pritinder Kaur from Curtin University, in Perth, to use the Ligō device to deliver stem cell-based products that could improve skin regeneration.

According to Inventia, the skin is the first point of injury in accidents and some diseases and, when significantly damaged, it heals slowly, usually leaving a scar. Moreover, throughout the regeneration process, it is open to infection, a major problem in the body’s first protective barrier, and a good enough reason to find new ways to speed up the healing process.

Focusing energies on creating a robot capable of printing tiny droplets containing the patient’s skin cells and biomaterials directly on the wound gave Inventia the potential to recreate functional and aesthetically normal skin. Moreover, the researchers behind the Ligõ technology suggest this can be achieved in a single procedure in the operating theatre, reducing treatment cost and hospital stays, and minimizing the risk of infection.

The device uses Inventia’s patented technology, which was already successfully featured in its RASTRUM platform for lab-based medical research and drug discovery. By taking this core technology into the clinic through the Ligō robot, the company expects to break new ground with some of Australia’s leaders in skin regeneration.

Researchers from Inventia Life Science at the Translational Research Initiative for Cell Engineering and Printing (TRICEP) at Wollongong. (Image courtesy of TRICEP)

Researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) at the University of Wollongong, in Australia, will also lend their internationally renowned expertise in bioinks to develop the new 3D bioprinting system to treat burns during surgery. Led by ACES Director Gordon Wallace, the researchers will provide critical input in the bioprinter and bioink development process. This news comes as no surprise as the ACES team already had a strong working relationship with Inventia.

“ACES is at the forefront of building new approaches to 3D printing, and this project will draw on this significant success we have had in this space in recent years,” Wallace said. “3D printing has emerged as the most exciting advance in fabrication in decades, and I’m excited to continue to build our local capabilities in this area to establish a new, innovative and sustainable industry for the Illawarra [a region in the Australian state of New South Wales]. Being part of this skin regeneration project will help to put Wollongong on the map for the commercial manufacture of bioprinting technologies.”

Leading bioprinting researcher Gordon Wallace. (Image courtesy of the ARC Center for Excellence for Electromaterials Science)

For project partner Fiona Wood, a world-leading burns specialist and surgeon, and Director of the Burns Service of Western Australia, this is not the first time that she has looked towards bioengineering to help her patients. In the early 90s, the expert pioneered the innovative “spray-on skin” technique, which greatly reduces permanent scarring in burns victims, and came to notice in 2002, when the largest proportion of survivors from the Bali bombings arrived at Royal Perth Hospital.

“The combination of these grants is an excellent example of the way the Medical Research Future Fund is being applied across the continuum of translational research to commercialization, leading to better patient outcomes,” commented Wood.

Fiona Wood at the Burns Service of Western Australia. (Image credit Fiona Woods Foundation)

Burns are the fourth most common type of trauma worldwide, with an estimated 11 million burned patients treated every year worldwide, and over 300,000 deaths resulting from serious wounds. In Australia alone Wood’s foundation reported that 200,000 people suffer burns annually, costing the Australian community over AU$150 million per year. Burn injuries are horrific and they present complex problems for both the patient and clinicians to deal with, with a road to recovery beyond easy to tackle. Inventia Skin expects bioprinting technology will be a game-changer in wound medicine. Moreover, the combined expertise of leading specialists in bioprinting and burn wounds, along with funding and support from the local government could lead to one of the most innovative 3D bioprinting systems to treat burns during surgery, and best of all, it could be available in 2022.

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MSF Hospital in Jordan Continues to Help Wounded Victims of War with 3D Printed Prosthetics

Ahmad is the first patient to receive an above-elbow 3D printed prosthetic from MSF. Technicians added an extra piece to substitute the humerus in the prosthetic, and Ahmad will be able to both bend and stretch the arm.

For over ten years now, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), known in English as Doctors Without Borders, has been operating a reconstructive surgery hospital in Amman, Jordan. Patients from many Middle Eastern countries who are victims of bomb blasts, shrapnel, bullets, and other war-related wounds are healed there.

But the MSF-run hospital also offers upper limb amputees something in addition to emergency medical care – 3D printed prosthetics.

Moreau scans the amputated hand of Ibrahim, a patient from Iraq. The scanned image appears in real-time on his computer and will provide accurate measurements for his tailor-made prosthetics.

Pierre Moreau, the clinical coordinator for MSF’s 3D printed prosthetic project in Jordan, said, “The MSF Foundation launched the 3D project in Amman in February last year, and we started to see the first patients two months later.

“So far, we have delivered 16 printed prosthetics. But our role doesn’t stop here. We support patients through a string of occupational therapy sessions to show what they can do with them.”

The project began as a study and is still technically in its experimental phase. Patients come to the hospital from places where it’s hard to get proper treatment, and too expensive for subsequent therapy, like Gaza, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, and MSF uses 3D scanning and printing to help them regain partial functionality. In turn, patient feedback helps the organization improve the quality of the 3D printed prosthetics.

34-year-old Ibrahim suffered injuries to his head, hand, and leg from a car explosion, and has had a total of six surgeries. While his hand was only initially broken, improper treatment caused it to rot, and doctors soon amputated it; Ibrahim has been dealing with the resulting pain for over two years.

Ibrahim’s 3D scans

At MSF’s Jordanian hospital, Ibrahim’s hands were scanned, and a mirrored picture will “be matched with the scan of the injured part” to make a more accurate prosthetic. Before his injury, Ibrahim was a driver, and his 3D printed prosthetic will allow him to return to work.

MSF is also 3D printing transparent masks for patients with facial burns, which are used to apply pressure on the affected surface to keep skin soft and flat after graft surgeries to help the face heal with less scarring. 7-year-old Nour Saleh suffered head injuries in 2014 when a small device exploded near the family home, and eventually underwent a skin graft procedure in Baghdad.

The family didn’t have enough money to cover all of her medical costs, and MSF accepted the case two years ago. Thanks to four surgeries at the Jordanian hospital, Nour was able to grow her hair back, which really helped with her self esteem.


Traditionally manufactured below-elbow prosthetics can cost anywhere from $200 to $2,000. But for a 3D printed prosthesis, factoring in the material, production time, case estimation, and assessment of the patient’s needs, the overall costs are much lower.

“The idea is to be able to produce 3D-printed prosthetics in the future in places difficult to access and lacking a sound healthcare system, like in conflict areas,” explained Moreau. “But the way to do it is still under discussion, as it is not always easy to find technicians available in these areas, and printers are still expensive.”

Samar Ismail

Prices are expected to keep going down as people in the industry work to develop cheaper 3D printers and innovative materials. Speaking of materials, MSF 3D Project Supervisor Samar Ismail takes care of the post-processing work for the 3D printed prosthetics, which includes painting them a color that matches the patients’ complexions and adding a varnish safety layer so food can be safely handled.

44-year-old Abu Mohammad was working in a field when a bomb was dropped, which affected both his hands and legs.

“It was impossible to escape the accident,” he explained. “Warplanes arrive suddenly and when you notice their presence, it is because you are on the ground groaning in pain.”

He uses a walker to move, and, as he has a nerve injury and multiple amputated fingers, received an active-system prosthetic, which will allow him to open and close his hand and activate the prosthetic thumb by moving his shoulder. This will help Mohammad complete tasks like combing his hair or holding a phone.

23-year-old Abdulkareem was also injured by a bomb dropped from an airplane. At the local hospital where he sought treatment, he received an uncomfortable prosthesis made with traditional methods that he rarely used. 17-year-old war victim Ahmad Meqdad was injured outside when a plane dropped a barrel bomb near his home seven years ago, and was taken to the hospital with his arm barely hanging on; his hand was soon amputated, and his mother says that he “refuses to talk about the accident.”

MSF has used 3D printing to help all of these patients, and will hopefully continue to do its good work for as long as it’s necessary.

Note: Some of the patient’s names were changed on request.

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[Source: Al Jazeera / Images: Elisa Oddone]