Speaking With...

Mia Woodruff at the November 2016 launch of the Herston Biofabrication Institute, a collaboration between QUT and the Metro North Hospital and Health Service. AAP3D printing is fundamentally changing the way we make many objects – from construction materials to toys and even food. And being able to 3D-scan the environment, even our own bodies, means that tools and prosthetics that were once mass-produced can now be custom-made for the people they’re designed to help, at a low cost. What if one of the most essential items in the hospital of the future is a 3D printer? William Isdale speaks with Queensland University of Technology’s Mia Woodruff about the work she and her team are doing to explore the use of 3D-printed bio-gels and scaffolds in healing cartilage and bone injuries, and looking to a future where biological functions for those currently on organ donor lists might be fulfilled by bio-compatible machines created in a lab. Subscribe to The Conversation’s Speaking With podcasts on iTunes, or fo