3D printing BioPen lets surgeons draw with stem cells

Doctors perform hundreds of thousands of knee surgeries every year, often to replace damaged or worn cartilage. The techniques for performing these surgeries today may be about to change, thanks to new research. 

In the not-too-distant future, orthopedic surgeons may simply draw new cartilage inside your knee, using a 3D printing, stem-cell-extruding device called the "BioPen."

The device is still in the research and development stage and not yet approved for medical use, but it's an example of how 3D printing technologies may usher in new ways of treating common human ailments.
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