Design and Development of a Magnetic-Steered Minimally Invasive Bioprinting System

Bioprinting is a promising fabrication technique to create medical devices for the human body in vivo or in vitro. However, the existing in-vivo bioprinting methods impose various prerequisites, such as a large incision on the human skin, to make the printing nozzle close to internal organs. Herein, we propose the design of a new magnetic-steered bioprinting system, which can perform bioprinting tasks in a less invasive manner. It is enabled by the introduced concept design of hybrid printing pipe, which integrates the advantages of rigid tube and flexible pipe together. The system consists of two essential parts for direct positioning and printing. After precise positioning, it drives the flexible pipe to deflect under the skin. The printing nozzle is steered by a permanent magnet. Experimental studies have been conducted to demonstrate the printing of both regular and asymmetrical patterns on a pig liver tissue and a flat surface. This work provides a promising solution for printing biological tissues or robots in minimally invasive manner.