Brain Vista

This new technology by MUJ will revolutionize how orthopedic surgeries   work

The two-year-old BIONAC Lab at Manipal Jaipur University (MUJ) is home to some of the most world-changing research. Managed by Dr Sanchita Bandhopadhyay Ghosh and Dr Subrata Bandhu Ghosh, both Associate Professors in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, it wouldn’t be far off the mark to say that the duo is easily MUJ’s ‘Power Couple’.

Ask them what they are working on, and Dr Sanchita will patiently explain. She, along with her students, is working towards developing several types of biomaterials, all related to biomedicine.

One of the projects Dr Sanchita is spearheading involves ‘degradable scaffolds for human bones’. This revolutionary project will completely change the treatment for fractures as we know it today. Currently, doctors insert titanium rods as a support for the broken bone to heal in quite an intensive surgery. The first one is usually followed by at least two to three additional revision surgeries over the next couple of years. However, Dr Sanchita and her team have ‘biomimicked’ a scaffold from agricultural waste that is as lightweight as it is porous. And now for the best part: it completely dissolves into the bloodstream as the patient’s bone tissue grows back, erasing the need for additional surgeries.

Another closely-linked project that the incredible Dr Sanchita and her team are working on are polymer-based injectable scaffolds. Currently in research stages, this game-changing nano cellulose-based gel might just do away with the need for certain kinds of brain surgeries. The principle is simple: Doctors will look at a patient’s CT scan, identify the damaged brain tissue and inject the gel into the brain. Once the patient’s brain tissue grows back, the solidified hydrogel will dissolve into the bloodstream! What makes these ideas radical is that they are completely developed with the use of whey straw, a raw material that is almost available for free.

As if the aforementioned wonders weren’t impressive enough, the BIONAC Lab is also home to three high-end 3D printers. The first one is a Fuse Deposition Modeling printer that uses bio-compatible filament and prints the material into any kind of shape.

The second is the rare and fascinating Stereolithography printer that takes resin or biodegradable substances, clubs them with biocompatible materials to create bio ceramics. Simply put, Dr Sanchita and her team can print customized bone structures right on the MUJ campus! The application of this is simple: the printer creates the same bone structure identical to the patient’s bones.

The last printer is a bioprinter, to be used along with bio-ink. Thanks to this revolutionary technology it is now possible to print live human bones within the confines of a laboratory.

A large part of the Bionac Lab’s infrastructure is funded by MUJ, in its constant bid to aid research scholars. Dr Subrata admits that getting a state-of-the-art lab to conduct research, especially in a private university, is quite a challenge because of the extremely high overheads involved. However, MUJ is very supportive of its scholars’ endeavors to give back to society and understands the need for its students to absorb as much practical knowledge as possible right on campus.