Age-related damages in the locomotor system have taken the lead as the fastest-growing health problem in the European population. The doctors have limited possibilities of eliminating the pains and discomfort that many patients feel. But now the researchers are a step closer to finding a new treatment method that catches attention far beyond the borders of Denmark. They will print surgical implants and create new tissue by means of stem cells.

2014.02.20 | Kim Harel

Musculoskeletal diseases affect an increasing part of the population, and today, they cause pain, functional loss, sickness absence or in worst case disability of approximately 120 million people alone in the EU countries.    

It is a trend that is expected to continue concurrently with the demographic development with several older and fewer young people in the western countries.

“From a social point of view we are extremely challenged by a growing population of old people. With age, our physical abilities are for instance weakened as a result of the biological changes in the body and external influences through our lifestyle. The function of our locomotor system is reduced, and our capacity to withstand loads of muscles, tendons and joints will be lower. To the individual person this often causes fewer years in good health and loss of life quality. To society it results in many costly operations and loss of work power,” says Associate Professor, Jens Vinge Nygaard, from Aarhus University.

Jens Vinge Nygaard is an engineer and works with the development of new types of surgical implants for worn or damaged body parts. In the laboratory, he and his research team have created some of the most significant results within his field, and this indicates that you may have to look in the direction of nanotechnology and materials technology, if you want to find new solutions to the increasing number of cases of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis. 

Within a period of a few years, scientists from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital hope to be ready with a new method for the treatment of tissue damages based on a combination of nanotechnology and modern 3D printing technology.

So far it works as expected in experiments with rabbits, and with a new six-digit grant from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation, the researchers will adapt the method for surgical treatment of humans in the coming three years.

Bones and cartilage in print-on-demand
The idea is to build new tissue which can replace damaged areas in the body by means of so-called mechanical stimulation of stem cells. The researchers design and print a surgical implant with a, for the purpose, suitable anatomical shape and a pre-defined porosity.

The porosity of the implant material provides a strong influence on the cells at a nano-scale level, and it is this strong influence that can dictate the cells’ structure of tissue and maintenance of the body’s functions. 

Specifically, the researchers conduct the strong influence by designing a computer implant with a special hole pattern which hereafter is printed in a sponge-like material. It all takes place through the use of an ordinary 3D printer.

“We print a complete implant in 3D which corresponds to the damaged tissue in size and shape. Then we implement it in the body, where it starts to suck liquid. We carefully perforate the bone marrow in the area to ensure free access to stem cells. Immediately hereafter the cells start to generate new, specific tissue. As the new, healthy tissue is being generated, the implant wil be decomposing,” says Jens Vinge Nygaard.

Non-medical treatment
Previously, the researchers used far more chemically advanced methods in the development of costly pharmaceutical drugs for biochemical cell stimulation.

The new printing technology is considerably more simple and far cheaper, and in principle it can be used for producing both bone tissue, fat and skin in a number of tissue damages.

At first, scientists focus on producing cartilage which, for instance, means that the joints of patients suffering from arthritis or rheumatism can begin to function again.

The sensational about the researchers’ method of producing artificial tissue is its property of being medicine-free. It is solely the complacency of the implant which determines which type of tissue the stem cells will generate, and according to Jens Vinge Nygaard it means that in the future engineers can expect to have a far major role in the treatment of muscoluskeletal diseases:

“It is an important discovery which means that in the long term we must turn our focus from medical impact of cells to mechanical impact of the cells. We can control the cell behaviour through the strong influence to which we expose them, and it can provide us with new, interesting treatment methods.”

Companies aim for new tissue technology
The technology was developed at Aarhus University in a collaboration between the interdisciplinary Nanoscience Centre (iNANO), Department of Engineering and Aarhus University Hospital.

In the next four years, the partners will collaborate with two Danish biotech companies to bring the research results closer to a clinical practice, and the commercial potential is huge, assesses Mai-Britt Zocca, Director of the company LevOss, which is a partner in the research project.

“The principle of using the mechanical properties to stimulate the cells is a fundamental change within the tissue technology. The idea that it is the shape of the biomaterial which can influence the behaviour of the cells makes our product simple but efficient,” says Director Mai-Britt Zocca from the company LevOss.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The project is called CartigenPro and runs over four years. It has a budget of a total of 14 million DKK and is supported by the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation with DKK eight million.

In collaboration with the biotech companies LevOss and DAVINCI Development, Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital will continue to develop the technology for the manufacture of implants by means of 3D print.

CONTACT
Jens Vinge Nygaard, Associate Professor,
The Department of Engineering, Aarhus University: jvn@iha.dk; +41893170