A new 3D printing “glue gun” can generate bone grafts directly onto fractures, using a revolutionary process that can fill-in the gaps around the site’s jagged edges.

Now, the researchers in South Korea are preparing for human trials, having developed a tool made from a modified glue gun that can 3D-print bone grafts to repair defects during surgery.

Essentially, it quickly creates bone implants on the spot, without the need for making them in advance.

The researchers “optimized” the 3D-printed grafts until they exhibited high structural flexibility while releasing anti-inflammatory antibiotics and promoting natural bone regrowth at the grafting site—conforming to the jagged edges of a fracture.

Bone implants have previously been made of metal or donor bone or, more recently, 3D-printe

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