Under the leadership of Fraunhofer Institute for Laser Technology ILT, a consortium of 16 European partners from industry and the research community will tackle issues related to artificial tissue growth. The project is called ArtiVasc 3D.
As reported by optics.org, Nadine Seiler of Fraunhofer ILT said that the project would develop techniques based on established additive manufacturing principles to build up the substrates. "The main goal of ArtiVasc 3D is to build up a branched vascular structure, using a combination of laser technology and an approach based on inkjet printing," she said. “This produces scaffolds that can be populated with skin cells taken from an individual donor, enabling the formation of vascularized fatty tissue and ultimately of artificial skin."
The generation of artificial tissue for implants has long been the focus of medical research. One of the biggest challenges has been to create multi-layer tissue structures designed to enable the diffusion of nutrients for surrounding cells in a similar manner to natural tissue.
The ArtiVasc 3D project will receive 7.8 million euros of funding from the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme.