The disgusting, amazing 3D-printed ear.

• Author: Mangu-Ward, Katherine
• Position: Artifact - Brief article

WHAT DO YOU get when you combine 3D printing, sheep cartilage, lab rats, and a little bit of titanium? A human ear.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital, led by bioengineer Thomas Cervantes, announced the successful creation of a lifelike, flexible ear from totally nonhuman sources in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface this summer.

The team used a 3D printer to create a titanium mesh scaffold for the ear, which was then seeded with sheep cartilage cells. The cells grew across the mesh over a period of about three months, creating an ear that can be tailored to mimic the recipient's natural aural appendages--a vast improvement over the current laborious process in which a plastic surgeon carves a rough ear out of cartilage harvested from the...