Researchers at EPFL have developed an advanced holographic 3D-printing platform capable of creating intricate living structures much more rapidly and with greater accuracy than traditional methods. This innovative technology, called tomographic volumetric additive manufacturing (TVAM), revolutionizes the printing process by using holograms and laser light to instantaneously craft complex objects within photosensitive resin. Instead of building object layers sequentially, the system projects light patterns into a spinning vial of resin, which solidifies into complete three-dimensional shapes wherever sufficient light energy is concentrated.<\/p>\n
An earlier improvement in 2025 allowed scientists at EPFL to use holograms for controlling the phase of light waves, enhancing efficiency through better preservation of laser energy. The latest iteration of the TVAM system has achieved a 70-fold increase in efficiency, enabled by a novel device that directly manages the phase of a laser beam within the 3D printing apparatus.<\/p>\n
During testing, the team was able to produce objects at the millimeter scale in just seconds and those at the centimeter scale within minutes. The system benefits from self-healing beams to increase accuracy in materials that scatter light, including biological tissues. Lead researcher Christophe Moser remarked that this method allows for bioprinting tissue structures close to clinical scale, overcoming previous limitations regarding size and light scattering from embedded cells.<\/p>\n
To validate the system, researchers successfully printed a life-sized human ear, demonstrating potential applications for bioprinted implants in reconstructive medicine. They also conducted experiments revealing that living cells embedded within smaller constructs maintained viability for six days, forming organized cellular networks. A technique was utilized to enhance surface smoothness and reduce speckle interference, yielding finer textures.<\/p>\n
Future developments in this field will focus on improving precision in projections and exploring how beam shaping interacts with bioresins containing higher concentrations of cells. Further enhancements may include capabilities for printing directly onto existing objects, as well as finer control over microscopic features by predicting chemical responses during the printing process.<\/p>\n