Medical Design and Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Educational Assets
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Views
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe

How 3D printed cells on the skin could enable wound healing

April 25, 2018 By Danielle Kirsh

3d printed electronics cells

[Image from University of Minnesota]

Researchers at the University of Minnesota are 3D printing electronics and cells directly on the skin that could create new methods for wound healing and enable biological agent detection.

The Minnesota researchers used a customized, low-cost 3D printer to print electronics on a human hand. They’ve also successfully printed biological cells on a sin wound of a mouse. The researchers suggest that the new technique could create new medical treatments for wound healing and graft treatments.

“We are excited about the potential of this new 3D-printing technology using a portable, lightweight printer costing less than $400,” said Michael McAlpine, the study’s lead author, in a press release. “We imagine that a soldier could pull this printer out of a backpack and print a chemical sensor or other electronics they need, directly on the skin. It would be like a ‘Swiss Army knife’ of the future with everything they need all in one portable 3D printing tool.”

[See McAlpine describe the edge of the 3D printing frontier at DeviceTalks Minnesota, June 4–5, 2018 in St. Paul, Minn.]

To print on the skin, temporary markers are placed and the skin is scanned. The 3D printer is able to adjust to the small movements of the body while it is printing using computer vision.

“No matter how hard anyone would try to stay still when using the printer on the skin, a person moves slightly and every hand is different,” McAlpine said. “This printer can track the hand using the markers and adjust in real-time to the movements and contours of the hand, so printing of the electronics keeps its circuit shape.”

The 3D printer also uses a specialized ink that contains silver flakes that are known to cure and conduct at room temperature. Traditional 3D printer inks need to cure at temperatures up to 212ºF, which would burn a hand.

The electronics can be removed easily just by peeling the device off with tweezers or washing it with water.

McAlpine is a 3D printing pioneer at the University of Minnesota and recently filed a patent for “3D printed active electronic materials and devices.” The patent encompasses using 3D printing to create active electronics from semiconducting materials. Everything is done through the printer.

This new 3D printing technique can also be used for other applications like printing skin cells directly onto the skin to help with skin diseases or even create skin grafts.

“I’m fascinated by the idea of printing electronics or cells directly on the skin,” McAlpine said. “It is such a simple idea and has unlimited potential for important applications in the future.”

The research was published in the Advanced Materials journal and was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and state-funded Regenerative Medicine Minnesota.

About The Author

Danielle Kirsh

Danielle Kirsh is an award-winning journalist and senior editor for Medical Design & Outsourcing, MassDevice, and Medical Tubing + Extrusion, and the founder of Women in Medtech and lead editor for Big 100. She received her bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism and mass communication from Norfolk State University and is pursuing her master's in global strategic communications at the University of Florida. You can connect with her on Twitter and LinkedIn, or email her at dkirsh@wtwhmedia.com.

Related Articles Read More >

A photo of the miniature Auxilium Biotechnologies implants made on the International Space Station.
Implants 3D-printed in space could enable nerve regeneration
Researchers develop faster, cheaper microfluidic device fabrication method
A photo of 3D-printed glacoma stents with a penny for scale.
Three predictions for high precision 3D printing and healthcare innovation
Axial3D GE HealthCare MR Imaging collaboration
GE HealthCare partners with Axial3D for patient-specific 3D MRI models
“mdo
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest medical device business news, application and technology trends.

DeviceTalks Weekly

See More >

MDO Digital Edition

Digital Edition

Subscribe to Medical Design & Outsourcing. Bookmark, share and interact with the leading medical design engineering magazine today.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
DeviceTalks

DeviceTalks is a conversation among medical technology leaders. It's events, podcasts, webinars and one-on-one exchanges of ideas & insights.

DeviceTalks

New MedTech Resource

Medical Tubing

MassDevice

Mass Device

The Medical Device Business Journal. MassDevice is the leading medical device news business journal telling the stories of the devices that save lives.

Visit Website
MDO ad
Medical Design and Outsourcing
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • MedTech100 Index
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World
  • R&D World
  • About Us/Contact
  • Advertise With Us
  • Subscribe to Print Magazine
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Listen to our Weekly Podcasts
  • Join our DeviceTalks Tuesdays Discussion

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media LLC. Site Map | Privacy Policy | RSS

Search Medical Design & Outsourcing

  • Home
  • Medical Device Business
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Financial
    • Regulatory
  • Applications
    • Cardiovascular
    • Devices
    • Imaging
    • Implantables
    • Medical Equipment
    • Orthopedic
    • Surgical
  • Technologies
    • Supplies and Components Index
    • Contract Manufacturing
    • Components
    • Electronics
    • Extrusions
    • Materials
    • Motion Control
    • Prototyping
    • Pumps
    • Tubing
  • MedTech Resources
    • Medtech Events in 2025
    • The 2024 Medtech Big 100
    • Medical Device Handbook
    • MedTech 100 Index
    • Subscribe to Print Magazine
    • DeviceTalks
    • Digital Editions
    • eBooks
    • Educational Assets
    • Manufacturer Search
    • Podcasts
    • Print Subscription
    • Webinars / Digital Events
    • Whitepapers
    • Voices
    • Views
    • Video
  • 2025 Leadership
    • 2024 Winners
    • 2023 Winners
    • 2022 Winners
    • 2021 Winners
  • Women in Medtech
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe