NASA TECHNOLOGY FOR BIOPRINTING Repurposing the 3D Printer Test Station for Medicine and Health
MISSION PATCH
Bhoomika Kumar is currently a senior at Coppell High School in Coppell, TX. Vishal Sivamani is currently a sophomore at Coppell High School in Coppell, TX.
In the patch above, there is a picture of a cell on a computer, highlighting Bhoomika's interest in biology. There is also a computer surrounded with zeros and ones, representing Vishal's interest in mathematics and computers. Our names are written on the patch in bioink, a crucial component of 3D bioprinting technology, which is what our Spinoff is about.
SPINOFF SCAVENGER HUNT COLLAGE
Refrigeration showcase: NASA’s research with spacecrafts in extreme temperatures have allowed for the engineering of cost-effective refrigeration showcases we find in supermarkets.
Temper Foam: Invented by NASA to make airlines more comfortable, memory foam is now widely found in mattresses.
Flexible Aerogel: NASA’s work to develop a material to handle extreme temperatures led to the creation of usable, flexible aerogel, now found in several footwear products.
Optimized building design: Softwares used to plan Mars missions, have been repurposed to plans like this eco-friendly elementary school where lots of planning was done on cost and energy efficiency.
Energy use sensor: A sensor technology used in NASA’ Sustainability Base is now implemented in homes to monitor energy usage in a convenient manner.
Air Purification technology: A technology once used for plant growth experiments by NASA, has been modified to purify air in homes and stores .
Highway Safety: NASA aviation research led to runways having grooves carved into them to prevent planes from hydroplaning while on land. This method has been implemented in roads and parking lots all over the world to prevent accidents.
Enriched baby food: NASA researchers discovered that microalgae produce nutrients that are important for a space diet. They also realized that these same nutrients are vital for humans on Earth.
SPINOFF DESIGN OBJECTIVES
- Improving 3D Bioprinting technology in an effort to reduce dangers, costs and time associated with the current drug discovery process in the fields of health and medicine
- Design a technology that will enable 3D printing of high-quality, low-cost prosthetic limbs.
ORIGINAL NASA TECHNOLOGY: 3D PRINTER TEST STATION
The NASA Spinoff we have chosen to modify is the 3D printer test station. This technology enables simultaneous monitoring of material deposition and adhesion as the object is being printed. In addition, a closed loop control systems allows for modifications to be made to the printer settings, based on the data that is being generated.
OUR SPINOFF TECHNOLOGY
Important features of bioprinter
Implement the force-resistive sensors (pressure monitoring), motion detector (on printer head) and closed feedback loop system components into open source hardware and software based, MakerBot bioprinters.
DESIGN REVIEW VIDEO
Video Description: In this video, we discuss how we modify the NASA 3D Printer Test Station technology to be incorporated into tissue bioprinting. Accurate 3D printing of tissues is crucial if they are to be confidently used for drug discovery. We discuss key features of our model, how we will test our design, the strengths and weaknesses of our current design, feasibility, future research questions, etc.
SOURCES (used for background research)
https://ntts-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/t2p/prod/t2media/tops/pdf/LAR-TOPS-242.pdf
https://www.tekscan.com/resources/whitepaper/load-cell-vs-force-sensor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rnd2CGUQag&t=106s
https://www.medicaldevice-network.com/features/3d-printing-in-the-medical-field-applications/
http://www.alliedacademies.org/articles/challenges-and-the-future-of-3d-bioprinting.pdf
https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/article/2018/05/carnegie-mellon-designs-low-cost-high-efficiency-3d-bioprinter/12016
https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10026080