Just 1 centimeter long and about 2 to 3 millimeters in diameter, the biodegradable tube is too small for the grooves and channels on its surfaces to be easily visible. Yet those microscopic textures represent an advance that Ding, an assistant professor in WPI’s Department of Biomedical Engineering, thinks may someday lead to big improvements in heart bypass surgeries.

In a new paper published in the journal Advanced Healthcare Materials, Ding and research collaborators from Northwestern University reported that they developed a rapid 3D-printing process using biodegradable “ink” and light to produce tubular implantable scaffolds with grooves and channels. The textures created pathways for cells to migrate across the implant’s surfaces and line up with each other, a critical step in regenerating blood vessels to the heart.