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A multidisciplinary team has 3D printed a replica of the human language, complete with synthetic soft surfaces and language-like textures, which can lead to a domino effect of breakthroughs in a variety of research fields.
Scientists led by the University of Leeds, in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, have meticulously replicated the surface of the human tongue, which plays a vital role in how we enjoy food, how we speak, swallow and absorb nutrients, including other functions.
The biomimetic tab accurately mimics topology, elasticity and “Wettability” – like a liquid it maintains contact and spreads over a surface – of the human tongue, scientists say.
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The synthetic silicone structure could play a revolutionary role in screening for new oral technologies, also improving nutritional technologies, medications and therapies for dry mouth (about 10% of the general population suffers from dry mouth).
The team, made up of food scientists, experts in soft matter physics, dentistry, mechanical engineering and computer science, focused on the anterior dorsal section (roughly in the center of the visible tongue, after the tip but before the base).
This area is partially covered by some papillae (the small punctuated slits on the tongue) which contain taste receptors, although not all of them act as taste receptors. The team took tongue surface molds from 15 adult participants.
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“Hundreds of small bud-like structures called papillae give the tongue its characteristic rough texture which, in combination with the soft nature of the tissue, creates a complicated landscape from a mechanical perspective,” said lead author, Dr Efren Andablo-Reyes, who described the work as a “Unique architectural challenge”.
These impressions were then optically scanned in 3D to map the size of the papillae on the surface, as well as their density and overall average roughness of human languages. The texture was found to look a lot like a random layout.
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