Design of a Dynamic Additive Manufacturing System for Use on Free-Moving Human Anatomy

Bioprinting is an emerging field that has advanced the process of tissue engineering using 3D printing technology. In situ bioprinting has been investigated at other institutions, wherein the tissue is printed cell-by-cell directly onto the site of interest [1,2]. However, these printing systems assumed rigid and fixtured target anatomy. In situations such as printing onto a moving hand, a pulsing blood vessel or a beating heart, this assumption cannot be met. This investigation demonstrates the design process for the robotic linkage of a printing system that can track and print on moving anatomy. Prior attempts at tracking and drawing on a hand used a commercial robotic arm [3]. This solution was expensive, bulky and unsafe for the task. It is shown here that an inexpensively manufactured two-link robotic arm that is kinematically optimized for hand motion can deliver the necessary torque and speed to track a hand. This kinematic optimization can be performed using tracked hand data, and the results of this optimization method are outlined below.