System and workstation for the design, fabrication and assembly of bio-material constructs

Inventors

Golway, Michael • Palmer, Justin C. • Eli, Jeffrey Kyle • Bartlett, Joshua D. • Collins, Ellsworth H.

Assignees

Advanced Solutions Life Sciences LLC

Abstract

A bioassembly system having a tissue/object modeling software component fully and seamlessly integrated with a robotic bioassembly workstation component for the computer-assisted design, fabrication and assembly of biological and non-biological constructs. The robotic bioassembly workstation includes a six-axis robot providing the capability for oblique-angle printing, printing by non-sequential planar layering, and printing on print substrates having variable surface topographies, enabling fabrication of more complex bio-constructs including tissues, organs and vascular trees.

Core Innovation

A bioassembly system is described that integrates a tissue/object modeling component with a robotic bioassembly workstation component. The tissue modeling component includes a user interface and at least one suite of tools for performing an object operation selected from creating, editing, modeling, transforming, image property modulating, sketching, print supporting, simulating, material testing and combinations thereof, together with a material database. Software executable by a hardware processor facilitates designing a volumetric model of a biological construct at the user interface, and the tissue modeling component is operationally linked to the robotic bioassembly workstation component.

The robotic bioassembly workstation component comprises a framed housing, a multi-axis robot with a robotic arm and robotic arm effector component, a robotic controller, a material storage unit, a material dispensing system, and an adjustable print stage. The material storage unit comprises at least one syringe barrel holder with multiple syringe barrels and at least one displacement sensor for ensuring correct seating of the syringe barrels in the holder, and at least one needle detection sensor for detecting needle size and tip deflection. The robotic arm is configured to print biomaterial from at least one syringe barrel from a plurality of directions onto a surface of the adjustable print stage based on an adjustable movement of the robotic arm.

The system is described as an integrated bioassembly platform in which TSIM tissue/object modeling software supports patient-specific 3D volumetric design through medical image import, and provides toolsets for creating, editing, transforming volumetric constructs, including vascular tree and tubular models. TSIM is further described as optionally supporting simulation, material testing and print-path planning, and as transmitting rendered volumetric models with print and/or assembly commands to the robotic bioassembly workstation. The RBW uses a six-axis multi-axis robot for oblique-angle and non-sequential planar/off-axis printing onto substrates with variable topographies, with dispensing controlled by the TSIM print/assembly commands.

Claims Coverage

The disclosed claims include two independent claims. Across these independent claims, the main inventive coverage is the operational linkage between a modeling component and a robotic assembly workstation, the modeling tools for designing a volumetric model of a biological construct, and a robotic workstation architecture with syringe and needle sensing and multi-direction printing onto an adjustable print stage; the second independent claim further includes a laser displacement sensor and feedback-enhanced leveling.

Overall, the independent claim coverage centers on designing a volumetric model at a user interface using a defined object-operation tool suite, operationally linking the modeling component to a robotic workstation, and printing biomaterial from syringe barrels via a multi-axis robotic arm in multiple directions onto an adjustable print stage. The independent claims further specify syringe barrel holder displacement sensing, needle size and tip deflection detection, and laser displacement sensor feedback for leveling.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications

No documented applications found