Helping Birds of Prey: Eggcellent Results With 3D Printing
- Post by: Steve Burke
- May 12, 2022
- Comments off
Katie Trittschuh is a Master’s student in the laboratory measuring neuromuscular transmission in Huntington’s disease skeletal muscle. You may be saying, “cool, I’ve always wanted to do that, but how is that related to birds of prey?” In her free time, Katie volunteers at the Glen Helen Raptor Center in Yellow Springs, OH, a local ecological center that serves to house and rehabilitates injured predator birds. While in rehabilitation at the raptor center, birds are not allowed to keep their eggs due to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. Removing the eggs is not a good solution because the birds will continue to lay eggs if they are removed. The continuous production of eggs depletes the bird’s energy that they need to recover and return to the wild. Katie came up with a solution to this problem using technology from our muscle physiology lab. She used the lab’s 3D printer to create mock eggs for different species of birds in rehabilitation. Because of the success of this approach at the Glen Helen Raptor Center, Katie is now making mock eggs for the Cincinnati Zoo and has printed over 10 different species of eggs. True to size, shape, and pigmentation, these 3D-printed eggs can be used to prevent chronic egg production in birds or for supplemental educational purposes.
In its primary application, 3D printing allows us to rapidly create new and innovative equipment to examine neuromuscular physiology. Credit to Steve Burke for this addition to the lab. Steve, now a research associate, started in the lab as an undergraduate and always had an interest in 3D printing. While he was learning various techniques in the lab, Steve began to imagine many applications for 3D printing. This interest took a leap forward when Russel George II, an intern from The Dayton Regional STEM School, worked in the lab. Steve’s first prototype of the Achilles force platform to measure in situ plantar flexor muscle force was printed by Russel at The Dayton Regional STEM School. Steve further improved his Achilles platform using computer automated design software and worked with the Wright State University Engineering Department to 3D print subsequent versions of the platform. Ultimately, the custom Achilles platform worked wonderfully and enabled us to obtain high-quality isometric force records from the plantar flexor muscles. The advantages of 3D printing became clear and Dr. Voss purchased a 3D printer so that the lab could rapidly prototype new tools for our research.
Since the creation of the Achilles force platform, we have 3D printed custom ex vivo force equipment, perfusion chambers, nerve stimulators, and replacement parts for expensive electrophysiology equipment. It is wonderful to see that our 3D printer is also helping birds of prey at Glen Helen Raptor Center and the Cincinnati Zoo. Nice job, Katie!