The State of Research

3D-Printing Bone with Nelson Isaacson

Episode Summary

Did you know researchers at Colorado State University are working to 3D-print a material that’s almost chemically identical to bone? Nelson Isaacson, a graduate student researcher in the School of Advanced Materials Discovery, is working to make this bone-like material stronger so it can be used in surgeries of bone-damage patients in places like the hips and legs that bare considerable weight. The goal is also to make this material bioresorbable, meaning once implanted into a human body, the bone-like material will incorporate itself into the existing bone and become virtually unnoticeable.