SBIR Phase I: Additive Manufacturing for Soft Tissue Repair by Three-Dimensional Microfiber Fabrication (3DMF)

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）一期项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是改善软组织愈合植入手术的结果。在美国，每年有超过200万例肌肉骨骼修复手术，代表着50亿美元的市场。与传统的将合成生物聚合物完全熔化或融合成固体和刚性物体的3D打印不同，该项目将开发一种新型的3D超细纤维打印工艺项目，以快速、经济地生产出性能更好的临床级打印植入物。这项技术将大大降低商品成本，加快产品开发周期。这种新型植入物将在现有产品昂贵得令人望而却步的市场上销售，包括大多数此类手术都在门诊手术中心进行的市场。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目将推进一种新型3D微纤维打印机的设计和工程，该打印机可以将临床相关的合成生物聚合物细丝组装成纤维状的、柔性的、高空隙/孔隙度的植入物，以促进软组织愈合。这种方法提供了质量、成本、速度和可制造性方面的改进。该项目将使用行业标准测试来探索材料强度、细胞相容性和生物相容性。预期的技术成果包括与多种合成生物聚合物和跨临床适应症兼容的受控纤维3D打印方法的定量测量。该项目将优化硬件工程、聚合物和打印配置。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project isto improve the outcomes for implant procedures for soft tissue healing. More than 2 million musculoskeletal repair surgeries are performed in the U.S. each year, representing a $5 B market. Instead of conventional 3D printing that completely melts or fuses synthetic biopolymers into solid and rigid objects, this project will develop a novel 3D microfiber printing process project to rapidly and economically produce clinical-grade printed implants with better performance. This technology will offer a significant reduction in the cost of goods and a faster product development cycle. The novel implants will be available in markets wherein existing products are prohibitively expensive, including ambulatory surgical centers, wherein most of these surgical procedures are performed.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will progress the design and engineering for a novel 3D microfiber printer that can assemble clinically relevant synthetic biopolymer filaments into fibrous, flexible, high void/porosity implants to promote soft tissue healing. This approach offers improvements in quality, cost, speed, and manufacturability. This project will explore the material strength, cytocompatibility, and biocompatibility using industry-standard testing. Expected technical results include quantitative measures for a controlled fibrous 3D printing method compatible with diverse synthetic biopolymers and across clinical indications. This project will optimize the hardware engineering, polymer, and print configuration.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.