Students operate mock 3D bioprinters in order to print tissue constructs of bone, muscle and skin for a fictitious trauma patient, Bill. The model bioprinters are made from ordinary materials— cardboard, dowels, wood, spools, duct tape, zip ties and glue (constructed by the teacher or the students)—and use squeeze bags of icing to lay down tissue layers. Student groups apply what they learned about biological tissue composition and tissue engineering in the associated lesson to design and fabricate model replacement tissues. They tangibly learn about the technical aspects and challenges of 3D bioprinting technology, as well as great detail about the complex cellular composition of tissues. At activity end, teams present their prototype designs to the class.
- Subject:
- Applied Science
- Biology
- Engineering
- Life Science
- Mathematics
- Measurement and Data
- Material Type:
- Activity/Lab
- Provider:
- TeachEngineering
- Provider Set:
- Activities
- Author:
- A. L. Peirce Starling
- Angela Sickels
- Hunter Sheldon
- Nicholas Asby
- Ryan Tasker-Benson
- Shayn M. Peirce
- Timothy Allen
- Date Added:
- 06/20/2017