SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a low-cost educator solution in three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing technology. The motivation behind this work is to increase accessibility and use of this technology to students in state-funded high schools and colleges. The low-cost 3D bio-printer is bundled as an educational toolkit to help teachers to engage students in more hands-on projects and promote project-based learning in the fields of science and engineering. The proposed 3D bio-printer platform will engage students in different projects and/or activities in fields related to biosciences and bioengineering that will challenge them to explore, experiment and discover their interests, as well as develop their problem solving skills. The broader impact of this innovation is to produce next generation Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) workforce with deeper understanding and more developed skills in applying their knowledge to solve real-world problems. The commercial impact of this innovation is to increase awareness of students to choose career pathways in the biosciences, medicine and bioengineering, which will play an important and significant role in contributing to the future healthcare workforce in the United States.

The project innovation involves hardware, software, and materials development for creating a low-cost bio-printer and educational toolkit designed for academic instruction in high-school and college levels. The primary goal of this Phase I project is to produce a complete package that integrates innovative bio-printing technology into Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education. This will be achieved by engineering reliable hardware components, integrating a user-friendly and simple software solution and developing an educational toolkit for instructors and educators. The proposed innovation leverages from existing know-how in open-source 3D printing technology to design a new low-cost 3D bio-printer that is easy to use and catered for educational instruction. The project will also focus on developing easy-to-use reagent kits to facilitate experiments in 3D bio-printing. The proposed Phase I project will produce a low-cost 3D bio-printer with reliable printing performance, bio-reagent kits and instructional material to help teachers create classroom content for projects in science and engineering.

Three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technology is giving rise to new methods and innovation in multiple fields across the biomedical and biotechnological industries. On-going progress is generating growth in the bioprinting market creating demands for new job skills in the near future. To address industry needs, schools must ready themselves with the right tools and equipment to train next generation students. Moreover, increased accessibility of technology in education can help to empower students and expand their scientific creativity. However, current 3D bioprinting instrumentation are primarily designed for industry use and expensive. Technical barriers further prohibit many schools from gaining access. To truly democratize technology innovation for next generation scientists and engineers, a sustainable solution catered to the education market is necessary. This SBIR Phase II project is aimed at addressing this opportunity gap and will create an affordable 3D bioprinting equipment and educational toolkit catered to high schools and colleges. The proposed bioprinting equipment will be multi-functional so that teachers can use it for a variety of classroom applications. In addition, the educational toolkit will include student-friendly software tools facilitating experiments in 3D bioprinting, bioreagent kits, and curriculum to support teachers in using the bioprinters in the classroom.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to create a highly functional and versatile bioprinting equipment and educational toolkit for the high school and college education market. The motivation behind this work is to increase accessibility of new and cutting-edge tools to next generation students who will not only benefit from gaining industry-relevant skills they need in the near future but provide them with the opportunity to innovate. The proposed multi-functional bioprinting equipment will facilitate increased hands-on learning activities in the classroom, a key component in learning science and practice engineering, and project-based learning. To this end, the development of curriculum to support use of the 3D bioprinter is critical in manifesting adoption in the classroom. From the hardware engineering perspective, the project will focus on engineering design to achieve integration of multiple functionalities in the proposed bioprinting equipment. Software tools that facilitate design and creation of bio-experimentation, and evaluation of experimental results through imaging tools will be developed to support activities spanning across the entire bioprinting process. Finally, bioreagent kits will be created to support consumable needs for the 3D bioprinter.