Earicular is a tissue-engineered reconstruction project to restore natural ear shape for patients with congenital deformities.
Engineering a path to natural ear restoration
Earicular combines clinical insight, allograft tissue, and 3D bioprinting to address microtia in a way that's gentler on patients.
Microtia is a congenital condition in which the outer ear is underdeveloped or absent due to abnormal fetal ear formation.
Reconstructive surgery is typically delayed until later childhood or early adolescence, when rib cartilage is fully developed and large enough to harvest.
1-10 per 10,000 births
Higher rates in Hispanic, Indigenous, Asian & Pacific Islander populations
Cartilage allografts are increasingly used in reconstructive surgery with strong clinical outcomes.
Extearna® is a minimally processed costal cartilage allograft sourced from pediatric and young adult donors, a promising material for auricular reconstruction.
Earicular's goal is to develop 3D bioprinted auricular constructs using Extearna® that match the biomechanical, biochemical, and clinical performance of autologous costal cartilage.
The result: fewer surgeries, reduced operative time, and a smoother experience for pediatric patients.
Costal cartilage allografts from young donors retain native ECM cues that support remodeling and integration. Pairing Extearna® with bioprinting lets us deliver patient-specific ear geometry without the morbidity of harvesting a child's own rib.
By eliminating the wait for a child's rib to mature, we can shift reconstruction toward the years when it matters most: before peers, photographs, and self-image.
Four pillars of research drive Earicular's approach to a softer, earlier reconstruction.
A photocrosslinkable hydrogel that's biocompatible and mechanically tunable, with support for cell adhesion. Derived from collagen-based gelatin, GelMA breaks down into harmless amino acids as native tissue takes over.
We incorporate decellularized costal cartilage ECM particles into the GelMA matrix. This composite bioink carries the biochemical cues of native cartilage, then gets bioprinted into auricular constructs.
Conventional autologous reconstruction requires harvesting rib cartilage. Surgeons must wait until ages 6-10 for full rib development, leaving children to grow up without an ear during the most socially formative years.
With our bioprinted construct, surgery can happen before full cartilage development. We size constructs to a near-adult shape using established growth proportions, then implant them early.
As the child grows, GelMA disintegrates and leaves behind cartilage similar to an autologous implant; surgeons no longer need to suture an ear pre-operation.
