SBIR Phase I: Low-cost 3D bio-printer toolkit for STEM education

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在开发三维(3D)生物打印技术方面的低成本教育者解决方案。这项工作背后的动机是增加国家资助的高中和大学的学生对这项技术的可及性和使用。这款低成本的3D生物打印机被捆绑成教育工具包，帮助教师让学生参与更多的动手项目，并在科学和工程领域促进基于项目的学习。拟议的3D生物打印机平台将让学生参与与生物科学和生物工程相关的不同项目和/或活动，挑战他们探索、实验和发现自己的兴趣，以及发展他们解决问题的技能。这项创新的更广泛影响是培养出下一代科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)劳动力，他们在应用知识解决现实世界问题方面具有更深入的理解和更先进的技能。这项创新的商业影响是提高学生在生物科学、医学和生物工程领域选择职业道路的意识，这将在美国未来的医疗保健队伍中发挥重要和重要的作用。项目创新涉及硬件、软件和材料开发，以创造一种低成本的生物打印机和教育工具包，专为高中和大学水平的学术指导而设计。这一第一阶段项目的主要目标是制作一套完整的方案，将创新的生物打印技术融入科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)教育。这将通过设计可靠的硬件组件、集成用户友好和简单的软件解决方案以及为教师和教育工作者开发教育工具包来实现。这项拟议的创新利用了开源3D打印技术的现有技术诀窍，设计了一种新的低成本3D生物打印机，易于使用，并迎合了教育教学。该项目还将专注于开发易于使用的试剂盒，以促进3D生物打印的实验。拟议的第一阶段项目将生产一台低成本的3D生物打印机，具有可靠的打印性能、生物试剂盒和教学材料，以帮助教师为科学和工程项目创建课堂内容。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a low-cost educator solution in three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing technology. The motivation behind this work is to increase accessibility and use of this technology to students in state-funded high schools and colleges. The low-cost 3D bio-printer is bundled as an educational toolkit to help teachers to engage students in more hands-on projects and promote project-based learning in the fields of science and engineering. The proposed 3D bio-printer platform will engage students in different projects and/or activities in fields related to biosciences and bioengineering that will challenge them to explore, experiment and discover their interests, as well as develop their problem solving skills. The broader impact of this innovation is to produce next generation Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce with deeper understanding and more developed skills in applying their knowledge to solve real-world problems. The commercial impact of this innovation is to increase awareness of students to choose career pathways in the biosciences, medicine and bioengineering, which will play an important and significant role in contributing to the future healthcare workforce in the United States.The project innovation involves hardware, software, and materials development for creating a low-cost bio-printer and educational toolkit designed for academic instruction in high-school and college levels. The primary goal of this Phase I project is to produce a complete package that integrates innovative bio-printing technology into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. This will be achieved by engineering reliable hardware components, integrating a user-friendly and simple software solution and developing an educational toolkit for instructors and educators. The proposed innovation leverages from existing know-how in open-source 3D printing technology to design a new low-cost 3D bio-printer that is easy to use and catered for educational instruction. The project will also focus on developing easy-to-use reagent kits to facilitate experiments in 3D bio-printing. The proposed Phase I project will produce a low-cost 3D bio-printer with reliable printing performance, bio-reagent kits and instructional material to help teachers create classroom content for projects in science and engineering.