Background

Purpose of an Artificial Ear

An artificial can be used to replace a lost or damaged one. The best kind of artificial ear to use for replacing the real ear is one made out of actual cartilage and the patient’s skin cells. This is exactly what bioengineers at Cornell University have done. They have worked to create 3D printed artificial ears that look and act real by using collagen from rat tails and cartilage from cow ears. These artificial ears can be created efficiently and quickly with the equipment used by the bioengineers. They are also researching ways to use human cartilage to create a better designed artificial ear.

3D Printing

3D printing has become increasingly popular over the past couple years. The concept of 3D printing is creating a three-dimensional object based on a digital model of the object that was made using some sort of computer software such as Creo Parametric or Maya. Since 3D printers require the use of. stl files, objects made in programs like Maya, must be converted to a .stl file.

3D printing has been used in the medical field to create various artificial organs, tissues, etc. Researchers are able to develop designs of these organs or tissues and print them with the 3D printer using various materials including silicone and cartilage cells to make the organ or tissue seem more lifelike.