Decision-making and Development of A 3D Printing-based Meniscus Transplantation System

半月板是一块楔形软骨，在膝盖中起减震器的作用。每年有数百万人接受手术治疗半月板撕裂，半月板移植是长期治疗的首选方法。然而，与其他组织/器官移植一样，这种治疗受到许多基本限制，例如供体短缺和形状不匹配的风险。此外，管理基于供体的半月板移植系统的供应链是困难的。一种新兴的制造技术，三维（3D）打印，有望通过制造人工半月板来克服这个问题。然而，将基于打印机的半月板移植变为现实存在关键问题，包括对3D打印的益处的担忧以及控制打印系统以生产合格产品的挑战。这项研究将评估3D打印在半月板移植中的益处，以帮助医疗政策制定者和患者的决策，并开发控制打印系统的系统方法。如果成功，研究将导致半月板打印机，以满足半月板损伤患者的巨大需求。将努力将代表性不足群体的学生纳入该项目，并为他们提供多样化的教育背景和跨学科的研究培训。研究团队由生物医学工程，制造和系统信息学的研究人员组成，旨在为当前的挑战找到综合的最佳解决方案。具体而言，该小组将重点开展三项工作：（ii）开发用于控制3D打印系统的数据驱动方法，包括材料选择、质量评估和质量预测，以及（iii）进行患者调查以收集有助于评估弯月面打印机在个性化打印方面的优势和差距的信息。这项研究将为弯月面打印的决策提供一个系统的、有证据基础的、实用方便的框架，并将目前3D打印中的试错方法转变为基于模型的、知识指导的方法。

The meniscus is a wedge-shaped piece of cartilage that acts as a shock absorber in the knee. Every year millions of people have surgery to treat meniscus tears, for which meniscus transplantation is the favored treatment in the long term. However, like other tissue/organ transplantations, this treatment suffers from many fundamental limitations such as the shortage of donors and the risk of shape mismatch. Moreover, managing the supply chain of the donor-based meniscus transplantation system is difficult. An emerging manufacturing technology, three-dimensional (3D) printing, is promising to conquer this problem by fabricating artificial meniscus. However, critical problems exist to turn the printer-based meniscus transplantation into reality including concerns on the benefits of 3D printing and challenges in controlling the printing system to produce qualified products. This research will evaluate the benefits of 3D printing in meniscus transplantation to help the decision-making of medical policy makers and patients and develop systematic methodologies for the control of the printing system. If successful, research will lead to a meniscus printer to satisfy the vast needs of patients with meniscus damage. Efforts will be made to include students from underrepresented groups in this project and provide them a diversified education background and interdisciplinary research training.The research team consists of researchers in biomedical engineering, manufacturing and systems informatics, aiming to find an integrated, optimal solution to the current challenges. Specifically, the team will focus on three tasks: (i) performing cost and risk analysis of the 3D printing-based meniscus transplantation compared to the current donor-based meniscus transplantation, (ii) developing data-driven methodologies for the control of the 3D printing system, including material selection, quality assessment, and quality prediction, and (iii) conducting patient survey to collect information that will help to evaluate the strengths and gaps of the meniscus printer toward personalized printing. This research will provide a systematic, evidence-grounded, practically convenient framework for decision making on meniscus printing, and shift the current trial-and-error approach in 3D printing into a model-based, knowledge-guided approach.