Bioprinting at Berkeley

Bioprinting at Berkeley is an interdisciplinary team of undergraduates, united by an interest in the engineering and scientific processes behind tissue engineering and 3D bioprinting. Students in this organization engage in four ongoing projects: Bionic Arm, BioPen, Bioprinter Repair, and Cardiac Ecopolymer. Each project not only has a goal to develop something impactful in the bioprinting space, but also, to give students valuable insights on the processes and skills they will utilize after graduation. You can learn more about each one below! 

All funds will go directly into supporting students wanting to learn and engage in hands-on experiences before reaching a career research or industry, giving us a jump start into our careers. Students lead these research projects with the mentorship of faculty -- having sufficient funds throughout this school year will be greatly appreciated and will empower undergraduate research. Thank you for considering Bioprinting @ Berkeley! 

Bionic Arm:

Our team designs and manufactures a biomimetic arm, spanning from the fingers to the forearm. There is a mechanical-focused approach, utilizing 3D printers, and servo motors to achieve this goal. Movements striven for are extensions, flexions, and rotations of the fingers and wrist.

Biopen:

The BioPen team aims to build a low-cost, modular, and handheld 3D bioprinting pen that will allow for rapid prototyping and testing of hydrogel structures for research, surgery, and other use cases. Current project goals include researching and testing hydrogel properties (viscosity, temperature sensitivity, etc.), creating a CAD model of the device, 3D-printing custom parts, and finalizing/integrating the microcontroller system.

Cardiac Ecopolymer:

With often usage of the bioprinter, the machine needs repairs and tune ups. The current focus of the Bioprinter Repair team is to increase precision and accuracy of the bioprinter through implementing dual extrusion and temperature control. With the planned adjustments completed, the bioprinter will print quicker and its products will be higher in quality.

Proposed DeCal (student led class) for Spring 2025-- 3D Printing Wheelchairs for Shelter Animals!

Wheelchairs for disabled shelter animals are often hard to find, customize, and afford. This class led by Tyler Lai, who wields a great understanding of mechanical engineering topics and 3D Printing, will train students in prosthetics design, Computer Aided Design, usage of 3D printers, and along with many other mechanical engineering topics. The goal of the class is to have student teams design, print, and test their prosthetics ideas and to hopefully give our animals in need at the shelter a second chance at mobility. We hope to partner with medical prosthetics companies in the industry and our local animal shelters, so please reach out to us at calbioprinting@gmail.com if you would like to join us!

"According to the World Health Organization, “only 1 in 10 people in need has access to assistive products, including prostheses and orthoses, because of their high cost and because of lack of awareness, availability, trained personnel”. There are simply not enough healthcare professionals with the time and resources to create all the needed personalized assistive devices, leading to a disparity between patients that could be helped by personalized healthcare and patients that will receive personalized healthcare. The lack of assistive devices extends heavily to the animal world: throughout the past months we had to work exceptionally hard to find shelter animals that would benefit from prosthetics. This is because animals with disabilities are often put down due to reduced adoptability, without an assistive device for mobility, these animals are very hard to care for.

- Tyler Lai (DeCal Facilitator and Bioprinting Student Officer)

Budget Breakdown: All estimates are roughly only, and actual expenditures may vary. 

• $1500 ($500 for each project) to supplies, equipment, and maintenance of equipment 
• $600 to student events in professional development, guest speakers, and general meetings where supplies are needed for hands on activities.
• $900 to our DeCal (running now!)

Please learn more about us and our history at our website!

bioprinting.studentorg.berkeley.edu

Any donations are greatly appreciated and will be put to good use. Even if we do not reach our goal, we will allocate any funds to our project teams and rely on our small remaining budget from the previous school year.

We thank you for taking the time to read our project and hope you can contribute in any way you can. Although we are undergraduate students, we believe we can make an impact and change lives through teamwork and passion for technology and medicine. Please make a gift today!