Robotic-assisted 3D bio-printing for repairing bone and cartilage defects through a minimally invasive approach

There is an unmet need for new techniques and methods of healing critical size tissue defects, by further reduction of invasiveness in implant, cell and tissue-based surgery. This paper presents the development of a new regenerative medicine that combines 3D bio-printing and robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery techniques to meet this need. We investigated the feasibility of Remote Centre of Motion (RCM) and viscous material extrusion 3D printing. A hypothetical, intra-articular, regenerative medicine-based treatment technique for focal cartilage defects of the knee was used as a potential example of the application of 3D printing in vivo. The results of this study suggest, that RCM mechanism is feasible with viscous material extrusion 3D printing processes, without a major trade-off in imprint quality. The achieved printing accuracy at an average dimensional error of 0.06 ± 0.14 mm in this new modality of 3D printing is comparable to those described in literature for other types of bio-printing. Robotic assisted 3D bio-printing demonstrated here is a viable option for focal cartilage defect restoration.