Welcome to Embodi3D! Embodi3D is the web's first online community dedicated to biomedical 3-D printing. Learn about the uses and potential of 3-D printing in biomedical sciences by reading the blogs or downloading a printable file. Contribute to the discussion by posting a comment in the blogs or forums. Upload your 3-D printing creations to the File Vault. If you have a lot to say, start your own blog. Help the world to realize the awesome potential of biomedical 3-D printing. Welcome to the co
Hello everybody it's Dr. Mike here again with another medical 3D printing tutorial. In this tutorial we are going to be going over freeware and open-source software options for medical 3D printing. This tutorial is based on a workshop I am giving at the 2017 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Annual Meeting in Chicago Illinois, November 2017. In this tutorial we will be going over desktop software that can be used to create 3D printable anatomic models from medical scans, as well as a
Researchers from Nagoya University in Japan are now using customized 3D printed liver models created from patient Computer Tomography (CT) scans for guidance during liver surgery, as reported at the 2014 Radiological Society of North America meeting. The human liver is a complex organ. Liver cells, called hepatocytes, do the work of cleaning the blood of toxins and waste -- the primary function of the liver. Hepatocytes are dependent on a complex network of vascular structures, including bile du
I have received several requests for spine STL files from CT scans and these files have been added to the file vault over time as more people are 3D printing vertebrae for medical moldeling. There was a really good response to my last article about the wonderful 3D printable skull models available for free download on the embodi3D.com website. So, I've decided to do another article about spine models.
Embodi3D.com contains a large collection of spine STL files within the Spine and Pe
Summary: 3D printing is making rapid advances in many areas of medical treatment. In this article, I'll describe how I used recent advances in 3D printing to save a patient from having to have her spleen removed. In the process I broke some new ground in use of 3D printing in surgical planning. The clinical case and 3D printing advances are described in a recently published peer-reviewed paper in the medical journal Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology.
Intro image: The author usi
Here is my video review of the Ultimaker 3 Extended for medical 3D printing. It was 4 months in the making. Medical anatomical models can be challenging to 3D print because of complex anatomy and large size. This 3D printer has a couple of features which help overcome these challenges. Ultimaker 3 Extended specfications and pricing.
First, the Ultimaker 3 is a dual extrusion printer which allows for two different materials to be used during a single print. This video shows 3D print
There is tremendous beauty and diversity in nature that goes unnoticed by humans because it is simply too small for us to see and appreciate. Embodi3D member Michael Holland hopes to change that. Via his eponymous company Michael Holland Productions, he has created a fascinating traveling museum exhibit called MacroMicro that reveals the striking complexity and beauty of the microscopic world through high-resolution micro-CT scanning and 3D printing.
On the remote island of Iriomote-jima, p
I apologize for being slow with the posting recently. I was at a conference last week and this week I have been working on creating a 3D printable cardiac and arterial model (see image). More interesting blog articles will be coming shortly.
In the meantime, I encourage you to check out the blog of my friend, neuroradiologist, and 3D printing enthusiast Jenny Chen, MD., at Radbuz.com. You can follow her on twitter at @radbuzzz.
Summary: This is an advanced tutorial and assumes that you already know how to create STL files from CT scans. If you do not yet know how to do this, stay tuned, as a series of tutorials is planned on this website. Here we will use a free, open-source software package Blender to repair and correct a bony pelvis and lumbar spine model generated from a CT scan. If you would like to follow along with this tutorial, you can download the relevant Blender and STL files here, and follow along.
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Community member Mike Kessler has successfully printed a half skull available for download in the File Vault using a filament printer. He made the skull to help a family member who is learning skull anatomy in medical school. The skull looks great. Fantastic job Mike! Check out Mike's complete album here.
If you have had success with printing one of the 3D anatomic models available for download on the site, please let us know how things went. If you are creating your own medical 3D models,
UPDATED TUTORIAL: A Ridiculously Easily Way to Convert CT Scans to 3D Printable Bone STL Models for Free in Minutes
Hello, it's Dr. Mike here again with another tutorial on 3D printing. Proprietary software that creates 3D printable models from medical scans typically costs tens of thousands of dollars to license. But, did you know that you can do the same thing using freeware? It's true! In this tutorial I'm going to show you exactly how to do this.
We will be using the free,
Dr. Marco Vettorello is an anesthesiologist and intensive care physician in Italy. On the side he has been creating high quality anatomical models that are of great value for medical education. He has agreed to share his models with the Embodi3D community. All are available for free download. The models that he has shared include:
Human heart
Anatomic skull
Maxillary bone
Frontal bone
Mandible
Sphenoid bone
Thanks very
3D printing is revolutionizing the treatment of aortic stenosis, as reported by researchers from St. Joseph's Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona and presented at the 2014 Radiological Society of North American (RSNA) meeting. Aortic stenosis is a deadly condition where the valve that connects the heart to the aorta does not open properly. The aortic valve, as it is called, is designed to open freely to allow blood pumped from the heart to move in a forward direction into the aorta, the main artery of
If you have a 3D printable file you would like to share with the Embodi3D community the process is very easy.
1) First, get your files ready. STL files are best and have good compatibility with most printers. Make sure your files are of good quality as Embodi3D's file library contains high quality files. If you think you files may have errors in them, you can check them using the Inspector function in MeshMixer. Be sure to compress your files if possible using a compression program l
Please note that any references to “Imag3D” in this tutorial should be replaced with “democratiz3D”
In this tutorial we will discuss how to share, sell, organize, and reprocess 3D printable medical models you make using the free online democratiz3D service from embodi3D. democratiz3D is a powerful tool that automatically converts a medical CT scan into a 3D printable file in minutes with minimal user input. It is no longer necessary to master complicated desktop software and spend ho
If you are planning on using the democratiz3D service to automatically convert a medical scan to a 3D printable STL model, or you just happen to be working with medical scans for another reason, it is important to know if you are working with a CT (Computed Tomography or CAT) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scan. In this tutorial I'll show you how to quickly and easily tell the difference between a CT and MRI.
I am a board-certified radiologist, and spent years mastering the subt
NRRD is a file format for storing and visualizing medical image data. Its main benefit over DICOM, the standard file format for medical imaging, is that NRRD files are anonymized and contain no sensitive patient information. Furthermore NRRD files can store a medical scan in a single file, whereas DICOM data sets are usually comprised of a directory or directories that contain dozens if not hundreds of individual files. NRRD is thus a good file for transferring medical scan data while protecting
In this brief tutorial we will go over how to use Meshmixer to create a hollow shell from a medical 3D printable STL file. Hollowing out the shell, as shown in the pictures below, can allow you to 3D print the model using much less material that printing a solid piece. The print will take less time and cost less money.
For this tutorial we will use a head that we created from a real medical CT scan in a prior tutorial, " Easily Create 3D Printable Muscle and Skin STL Files from Medic
UPDATED TUTORIAL: A Ridiculously Easily Way to Convert CT Scans to 3D Printable Bone STL Models for Free in Minutes
Hello, it's Dr. Mike here again with another tutorial and video on medical 3D printing. In this tutorial we're going to learn how to take a DICOM-based medical imaging scan, such as a CT scan, and convert into an STL file in preparation for 3D printing. We will use the free, open-source software program Osirix to do this. Once the file is converted into STL format, we w
Please note that any references to “Imag3D” in this tutorial has been replaced with “democratiz3D”
In this tutorial you will learn how to create multiple 3D printable bone models simultaneously using the free online CT scan to bone STL converter, democratiz3D. We will use the free desktop program Slicer to convert our CT scan in DICOM format to NRRD format. We will also make a small section of the CT scan into its own NRRD file to create a second stand-alone model. The NRRD files wil
If you attended my open-source 3D printing didactic talk or open-source 3D printing workshop at this year's RSNA meeting and are interested in a having a copy of my slides (I have been asked several times), or if you are not at the meeting and are just interested, you can find them here. They are an attached PDFs and links.
Manual for Open-Source 3D printing workshop (PDF)
Other resources to help you get 3D Printing the Embodi3D tutorials page: http://www.embodi3d.com/tut
Hello Dr. Mike here and welcome to my review of the Form 2 3D printer by Formlabs. The Form 2 is Formlabs newest desktop stereolithography printer. It is a great asset for medical 3D printing with many user friendly features and an acceptable price.
My full review is included here in both video and text. You can download the splenic artery aneurysm file shown in the video. The Form 2 printer is available to purchase. The previous generation Form 1+ can be purchased on Amazon. However
In this tutorial we will learn how to use the free medical imaging conversion service on embodi3D.com to create detailed anatomic muscle and skin 3D printable models in STL file format from medical CT scans. Muscle models show the detailed musculature by subtracting away the skin and fat. Even when created from a scan of an obese person, the model looks like it comes from a bodybuilder, Figure 1A. Skin models show an exact replica of the skin surface. The finest details are captured, including w
Today I was interviewed and featured on Radbuz. I spoke with Dr. Jenny Chen about my experiences with 3D printing in the biomedical space and where I think the field is going.
Check it out!
http://radbuz.com/2014/08/24/influencers-an-interview-with-dr-michael-itagaki-embodi3d-com-on-3dprinting-in-healthcare/
UPDATED TUTORIAL: A Ridiculously Easily Way to Convert CT Scans to 3D Printable Bone STL Models for Free in Minutes
Hello and welcome back. I hope you enjoyed my last tutorial on creating 3D printable medical models using free software on Macintosh computers. In this brief video tutorial I'll show you how to create a 3D printable skull STL file from a CT scan in FIVE minutes using only free and open source software. In the video I use a program called 3D Slicer, which is available fr
