FASTER, PLEASE: Scientists fix fractures with 3-D printed synthetic bone.

The team found that when used in spinal injuries in rodents and to mend the skull of a monkey, the hyper-elastic bone, made mostly of a ceramic and polymer, quickly integrated with surrounding tissue and began regenerating bone.

It swiftly mended bones in the spines of the rats and healed the monkey’s skull in just four weeks, with no signs of infection or other side effects, the scientists said.

“Another unique property … is that it’s highly porous and absorbent – and this is important for cell and tissue integration,” said Ramille Shah of Northwestern University’s department of material science, engineering and surgery, who co-led the work.

“Even when it’s deformed or squeezed into a space, it still maintains high porosity, and this is also very important for blood vessels to infiltrate the scaffold so that it can further support cell and tissue growth.”

Human trials are scheduled to begin “within five years,” but given that my younger son’s favorite activity is throwing himself off of things, I do wish they’d speed that up.