3D Endoscopic Microfabrication (3DEndoFab)

Focus:	Life Science Technologies Talents
Type of funding:	Individual funding programmes
Programme:	CZS Nexus
Funded institution:	University of Stuttgart

Dr. Andrea Toulouse conducts research in the field of micro-optics and fibre-based 3D printing. After studying physics at RWTH Aachen University, she worked as a development engineer in industry. This was followed by a doctorate and postdoc at the University of Stuttgart.

Goals

Reconstructing tissue directly in the body is a major interdisciplinary research task. Although modern 3D printing technologies make it possible to additively manufacture tissue scaffolds outside the body, it is difficult to implant them seamlessly using minimally invasive methods. An endoscopic bio-3D printer, as planned by Dr. Andrea Toulouse's research group, could close this gap. A 3D-printed micro-optic, as small as a grain of salt, on the tip of a glass fiber is intended to shape light in such a way that even complex tissue structures can be 3D-printed.

With this interdisciplinary research project, Andrea Toulouse's junior research group is located at the interface between engineering sciences and biotechnology. The central research questions are: Which method of light-based 3D printing is suitable for endoscopic use in a biomedical context? How can fiber-based 3D printing be implemented in a minimally invasive, efficient and safe manner? In the future, such an endoscopic 3D printer could enable high-precision tissue reconstruction directly inside the body.