Engineer pursues 3D-printed hope for breast cancer survivors

Katie Weimer launched GenesisTissue in 2024 to develop 3D-printed, cell-friendly breast-tissue scaffolds intended to be filled with a patient's own fat cells; the technology is not yet commercially available.

Katie Weimer is a biomechanical engineer in Colorado who launched GenesisTissue in 2024 after a personal loss to breast cancer. She is developing 3D-printed, cell-friendly scaffolds designed to be filled with a patient's own fat cells and implanted to restore breast shape after a lumpectomy. The scaffolds are intended to support fat grafts while they integrate and to degrade over time. Benchtop results and preliminary preclinical data have been reported, and Weimer hopes this work will lead to clinical trials. Key facts: - GenesisTissue was founded in 2024 to develop 3D-printed breast-tissue scaffolds. - The proposed approach uses surgeons to extract a patient's fat cells by liposuction and inject them into a bioprinted scaffold before implantation. - The scaffold is designed to protect the fat graft from mechanical forces, allow tissue integration, and decrease long-term rejection risk. - The technology is not yet commercially available; benchtop and preliminary preclinical data have shown promising results. - Current approved breast implants in the U.S. are saline or silicone gel and carry a 2020 FDA boxed warning; regulatory review for new devices remains a major hurdle. - Sources cited that more than 300,000 U.S. women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and about 170,000 lumpectomies are performed annually in the U.S. Summary: Weimer and her team aim to move from preclinical studies to clinical trials and regulatory review to make personalized, bioprinted scaffolds available for reconstruction after cancer surgery. Timing for those steps is undetermined at this time.