Injuries to muscle tissues can often allow for very simple regeneration and recovery. Even a more solid structure, like a bone, can be allowed to repair itself relatively easily with modern science. Where things get more complicated for many people is when a nerve gets severed. Conventional medicine has a limited ability to repair broken nerves, the technology for which is often unavailable for many people. Fortunately, 3D printing is stepping in to help improve the lives of people who have suffered injuries to the peripheral nervous system.
A new process, which is coming to us from researchers from the University of Sheffield, is improving upon the way that doctors can rejoin the broken ends of a nerve. While conventional medicine generally requires the use of grafts, a sophisticated 3D printer has allowed researchers to create fine Nerve Guidance Conduits (NGC’s) that are capable of guiding broken nerves together more efficiently and more reliably. These NGC’s have shown a lot of promise to provide custom-designed treatments for injury patients.
