Looking to emulate and support soft tissues such as muscles and tendons, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have produced pliable mesh materials, the flexibility and toughness of which can be tailored, using an additive manufacturing (AM) process.AM has been used successfully in the manufacture of medical devices such as hearing aids, dental crowns and prosthetic limbs. Such devices, however, are typically printed from solid, relatively inflexible materials. By contrast, the stretchable, fabric-like structures developed at MIT could be used in the production of personalized, wearable supports such as ankle or knee braces, or even implantable devices such as hernia meshes.
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