科学家University of Minnesotahave produced a 3D printed transparent skull implant them to observe the inner workings of mouse-brains实时。命名为看到的壳，可以为如阿尔茨海默氏病和帕金森氏病等人类脑疾病提供新的见解。
The study发表在期刊上Nature Communications州在这种情况下，非人类灵长类动物与人类共享类似的遗传学，解剖学，生理和行为，因此提供了良好的替代品。
明尼苏达大学教授兼研究的合着者蒂莫西·J·埃伯纳（Timothy J. Ebner）评论“这些是我们在人类中无法做的研究，但是它们在我们对大脑工作原理的理解中非常重要，因此我们可以改善经历脑损伤或疾病的人的治疗方法。”
A window into the brain
To make the See-Shell, researchers digitally scanned the surface of the mouse’s skull and imported this data into CAD software (Solidworks,DassaultSystèmes) to make a frame.然后将该框架从聚甲基丙烯酸酯（PMMA）（通常称为丙烯酸）中打印出3D。
On to this surface a thin flexible and transparent polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film was attached, forming the window. The frame also included screw holes for fastening a custom-designed titanium head-plate which held the mouse’s head still during experiments.
PET was chosen for the transparent component as it has excellent optical properties and is biocompatible, meaning the body of the mouse is unlikely to reject the implant.
为了连接透明壳，他们使用了定制的计算机程序来控制卸下鼠标头骨（颅骨切开术）的一部分的机器人臂。然后将组合的3D打印框架和宠物组件连接到头骨上。
Suhasa Kodandaramaiah博士说：“这种新设备使我们能够在特定神经元的最小层次上查看大脑活动，同时随着时间的流逝，大脑表面的大部分景点。”该研究的合着者。
“Developing the device and showing that it works is just the beginning of what we will be able to do to advance brain research.”
A 3D printed translucent skull for everyone?
The paper also claims that several aspects of the design and fabrication of the See-Shell can be widely adopted, and co opted, in labs to further our understanding of the brain.论文指出“可以使用桌面工具制造透明壳，并且价格便宜（每个<$ 20）。一旦制造了单个组件（或从商业制造服务中获取），则可以在<15分钟内组装植入物。因此，这是大多数实验室很容易采用的工具。”
The technology is not limited to skulls either. The authors claim that See-Shells could also be engineered for use on complex and movable parts of the body, such as spines.“可以修改3D打印的框架，以将安装功能纳入精确附加微型显微镜和无线控制的设备，以注入药理学剂或进行光遗传学刺激。”
这项最新进步增加了明尼苏达大学不断增长的3D印刷解剖专业知识的投资组合，其中包括3D印刷bionic eye原型和3D印刷植入物恢复脊髓中的功能。
A full explanation of this procedure, titled “Cortex-wide neural interfacing via transparent polymer skulls“is published online inNature Communications. It is co-authored by Leila Ghanbari, Russell E. Carter, Mathew L. Rynes, Judith Dominguez, Gang Chen, Anant Naik, Jia Hu, Md Abdul Kader Sagar, Lenora Haltom, Nahom Mossazghi, Madelyn M. Gray, Sarah L. West, Kevin W. Eliceiri, Timothy J. Ebner & Suhasa B. Kodandaramaiah.
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特色图像显示了一只小的实验鼠标。通过Shutterstock图像。
