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Biography

Dr Thanh Nho Do  is currently a Scientia Senior Lecturer at Graduate School of Biomedical Engineering (GSBmE), University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney.  He directs UNSW Medical Robotics Lab. In 2015, he was awarded his PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering (Surgical Robotics) from the School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (MAE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.  He also received his B. Eng. degree in Manufacturing...view more

Location

Room 1003, Level 1, E26 Biological Sciences South

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Contact

(+61) 93852892

Videos

Research is the bedrock for our work at the Heart Foundation. It helps create the future we want to see: an Australia free of heart disease. Thanks to donors, we’re able to fund researcher Dr Thanh Nho Do, as he develops a better treatment option for people living with heart failure. Only a limited number of heart failure patients have access to specialised life-support machines or a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). These machines keep them alive.
Dr Do and his team are working on a soft robotic device to improve how a failing heart pumps blood. Their aim is to make it less bulky and more portable than the LVAD – and more cost-effective. This will make it easier for more people around Australia to access.
This exciting research could give people waiting for a heart transplant more time and help improve their quality of life.
And it’s because of you that ground-breaking research like Dr Do’s is possible. Will you help advance cardiovascular research and give the gift of life today?
SYDNEY, March 28 (Reuters) - A team of biomedical engineers in Australia have developed a small flexible robot that can be used to 3D print biomaterials directly inside the human body, in the hopes of streamlining future medical procedures.

3D bioprinting is a process where natural tissue-like structures are printed using living cells and other natural tissues known as "bio-ink", in order to repair organ or tissue damage or ruptured blood vessels.

The use of living cells in the printing process allows these man-made structures to fuse naturally with the human body and continue to grow.

Currently, biomaterials must be created outside of the body before relying on typically invasive surgery to insert the materials inside the body, which can lead to high blood loss, infections, and other complications.

Team leader Thanh Nho Do said this new device, named F3DB, will eliminate those complications and risks by printing directly inside the body.

"Currently no commercially available technology can perform direct 3D printing inside the human body," Do told Reuters.

F3DB features a three-axis printing head that can bend and twist using hydraulics on the tip of a soft robotic arm. The printing nozzle can print pre-programmed shapes or can be operated manually if more complex or undetermined printing is required.

The smallest prototype has a diameter of approximately 11-13 millimetres (mm), similar to a commercial endoscope, but it could be scaled even smaller in the future.

"Soft robots (are) very good for working with the human body," Do, the director of the University of New South Wales Medical Robotics Lab, said.

"They can offer high flexibility and adaptability. This means they can fit to any area inside the human body."

Do believes that the device is on track for commercialisation in the next five to seven years, pending further clinical trials.
Biomedical engineers in Australia have developed a prototype of a small flexible robot that they say can be used to 3D print biomaterials directly inside the human body. The device called F3DB functions like an endoscopic tool, and may have applications as a way to repair ruptured tissue or blood vessels without the need for more invasive surgeries. The alternative treatment could in turn low risks associated with surgery, including blood loss and infections.
A team of researchers at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia is working on the development of a mini bioprinter to print new tissue directly inside the body. But this innovative 3D printing process is still in its early stages.
Heart Foundation of Australia
'Flexible robot' for 3D printing inside the body (Reuters Video)
Robot prototype 3D prints biomaterials inside human body, lowering surgical risks
Smart Robotic Textile_Thomson Reuters
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3D printing inside the body DW Germany