Researchers including one of Indian origin are developing synthetic ears, which are capable of receiving and transmitting sound. Princeton University researchers mixed bovine cells with a liquid gel and sent it through a 3-D printer followed by tiny silver particles. The printer has been programmed to shape the material into a bionic ear, and the silver particles are turned into a coiled antenna, which like other antennas are capable of picking up radio signals, which ear interprets as sound, Fox News reported.
Michael McAlpine, the professor who led the project, said what the team we really achieved was to show the capabilities of 3-D printing.
The printed ear is soft to touch and is translucent.
The ear is cultivated for ten weeks, where the cells are allowed to multiply, and hardened tissue are formed around the antenna.
Manu Mannoor, a graduate student who worked with McAlpine on the project, demonstrated how the process works.
