Minimally invasive in-situ bioprinting for geometric reconstruction of vocal folds.
Prevention of fibrosis following resection of vocal fold lesions often relies on percutaneous hydrogel injections. This approach provides limited needle placement accuracy due to limited tactile and visual feedback and is unsuitable for treatment of large defects where a deteriorated epithelium prevents material retention. Accurate control of hydrogel deposition is essential to treat large defects and to enable geometric reconstruction of the vocal fold body. In situ bioprinting offers a promising alternative approach through the layer-by-layer deposition of hydrogels for geometric reconstruction with high spatial accuracy. Here, we present a minimally invasive bioprinter compatible with suspension laryngoscopy for localized deposition of hydrogel in vocal fold defects. Optical tracking was used to evaluate the nozzle positioning accuracy and stability. Printability of alginate and hyaluronic acid based hydrogels were evaluated. Printing demonstrations were performed on a flat substrate and in ex-vivo surgical models of vocal fold defects, including a complete resection. The bioprinters achieved a mean position error of 1.33 mm. The bioprinter was able to print the hyaluronic acid hydrogel with a 1.2 mm line width. Using manual operation, three-dimensional constructs were successfully created, and the vocal fold geometry was successfully restored in ex-vivo surgical models. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of accurate targeted hydrogel deposition for geometric reconstruction of vocal folds using a minimally invasive in-situ bioprinting approach.