Cornell’s Lawrence Bonassar used 3D photos of human ears to create ear molds. These molds were then filled with a gel containing bovine cartilage cells suspended in collagen, which held the shape of the ear while cells grew their extracellular matrix. Bonassar and his team have since gone on to 3D print intervertebral discs to treat major spinal complications,while researchers at Princeton have 3D printed their own collagen ear, this time, with built-in electronic components for superhuman hearing. using a simple NextFab FFF printer, they were able to accomplish the task, performing a multimaterial print. A chondrocyte seeded alginate hydrogel was used to lay out the shape of the ear so that, when dunked into a vat of cartilage inducing culture, the cartilage could form around the hydrogel and absorb it. Simultaneously, a conductive material, a nanoparticle called AgNP, was printed into the ear structure, to act as an antennae, and connected to a “cochlear like electrode”.forming a multimaterial print. A chondrocyte seeded alginate hydrogel was used to lay out the shape of the ear so that, when dunked into a vat of cartilage inducing culture, the cartilage could form around the hydrogel and absorb it. Simultaneously, a conductive material, a nanoparticle called AgNP, was printed into the ear structure, to act as an antennae, and connected to a “cochlear like electrode”.