A free online course has been launched this week to provide a glimpse on how 3D printing and new biocompatible materials are helping scientists and surgeons think new approaches to healthcare.

The four-week online course, called "Bioprinting: 3D Printing Body Parts," will be conducted by the University of Wollongong’s Australian Institute for Innovative Materials, through its partnership with global online learning platform FutureLearn.

The online course will be led by Professor Gordon Wallace, whose work is at the forefront of biomedical science. Topics will include the beginnings of 3D printing, how it is currently being used and what will be possible in years to come.

According to Wallace, they started this journey a few short years ago by taking off-the-shelf office printers and having their engineers rebuild it to be able to print a bio-ink, embedded with human cells.

“In the short time since, revolutionary scientific advances in 3D-printing technology and the development of amazing biomaterials, which can seamlessly integrate into the body, means we may be only a few years away from a time when every major hospital will contain 3D printing capabilities,” Wallace said.

This emerging field of biofabrication is being made possible through connections between medicine and technology, Wallace noted. Today, this has resulted to various developments, such as prosthetic limbs controlled by thought alone, bionic implants to restore lost senses and 3D printing of human organs.

Course material will be presented in language understood by a general audience and will use case studies to illustrate the impact that 3D printing already has on the ability to create customised medical devices.

These case studies include the 3D printing of personalised titanium hip implants using selective laser melting, the creation of made-to-fit masks for facial transplant recipients using hot melt extrusion and the potential for lab-grown organs structured through the ink-jet printing of living cells.

The course is four weeks duration, requiring two hours of study per week. It is aimed at high school leaver considering studying the course at university or current undergraduates.

The 3D Bioprinting course provides a taste of what students will learn through undergraduate study at UOW in the disciplines of degrees in science, mechatronics and materials engineering, and later as part of the new Masters degree in Biofabrication.

“The opportunity to share with a global learning community the impact our research has on everyday lives was an exciting extension of who we are at UOW,” said UOW Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic Professor Eeva Leinonen.

In August 2015, Wallace and his team from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science were reported to develop 3D-printed layered structures incorporating neural cells that mimic the structure of brain tissue. Wallace said using replicated brain tissue could assist in developing things like the bionic ear or getting better insights into mental health problems and how to better treat them.

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