3D printing has taken the medical industry by storm through the provision of various opportunities for innovation, thus improving the quality of implants. The 3D printing company, Autodesk, created the generative design software featuring 600 innovative implants from the micro-lattice porous structures to bioprinted blood vessels.
Senior director of design research, Mark Davis, said that the software uses different pore size configurations to help porous implant integrate properly with the i
3D printing is not only used in creating implants in the medical industry, but it is now also being used to develop interesting devices that can help doctors improve their practice. Recently, Harvard-educated physician and innovator Dr. Julielynn Wong created an innovative solar powered bag using 3D printing.
The purpose of her innovative bag is to help doctors assigned in underprivileged areas. She created 3D printed diagnostic devices used for testing malaria and water potability. She
Little is understood about the human brain and this is the reason why neuroscientists rely heavily on the in vitro brain tissue samples from animals to understand the human brain. However, it is important to take note that animal brain tissues are entirely different from ours and if we do drug testing on the former, the effects could be catastrophic for us. Unfortunately, the brain has more than 86 billion nerve cells thus leaving a large gray area for scientists.
Recently, researchers from
Biofabrication – the combination of mechatronics and biology – is no longer featured in science fiction movies. Currently, the clinical landscape is now using biofabrication through 3D bioprinting to treat different medical conditions that are difficult to medicate using conventional medical procedures.
So what does biofabrication do? If you are sick and in need of a new body part, biofabrication can build it for you. A good example of the application of biofabrication is the cochlear implan
3D printing is an essential tool in the modern medical technology as it is used in multitude of applications. One testament of the efficacy of 3D printing technology was its use on a double knee replacement surgery in China.
Doctors from Handan, China used 3D printing technology to repair the legs of a young patient requiring double knee surgery. Suffering from the condition called genu varum deficiency, the patient is characterized having bow legs due to the inward angulation of the knee
There are many innovations in 3D printing technology in the medical world. Aside from being used in creating casts for orthopedic patients, it is also being used by pediatric neurosurgeons to create model body parts of their patients.
Surgeons from the Boston Children’s Hospital are now using 3D printing to create 3D models of anatomies of pediatric patients suffering from cerebrovascular malformations which is characterized by having abnormalities in the blood vessels found in the brain.
3D printing is used widely in additive manufacturing and medical technology. While it is used to create medical models, it is now used to create better pills. The US Food And Drug Administration recently approved the first ever 3D-printed pill that is used to treat patients suffering from epilepsy. The pill was created by an Ohio-based company called Aprecia Pharmaceuticals.
The pill, called Spritam, is made using the ZipDose technology which is a process that makes the pill porous thus it d
3D printing has been utilized over the past months to create innovative medical devices and implants. Recently, the dental industry has also utilized 3D printing technology in order to create different teeth implants.
One of the companies that made important developments by using 3D printing technology is DENTCA. DENTCA produced the first-ever FDA-approved 3D-printed denture base. The material is made from light-cured resin ejected from a specialized 3D printer. The denture bases created us
There are many applications of 3D printing in the medical industry. As a matter of fact, experts in 3D printing made innovations for the different applications of 3D printing. One such innovation is the new 3D printed cast that can heal broken bones and also double as a Bluetooth speaker.
This cast is called BoomCast which is embedded with electronics and sensors so that it can be used as a Bluetooth speaker. Moreover, the electronics also allow doctors to monitor the condition of their pati
A full skull reconstruction surgery is very difficult to achieve using conventional surgical procedures. However researchers from the Second People’s Hospital of Hunan Province in China performed the first ever full skull reconstruction surgery using 3D printing technology.
The patient was a 3 year old girl suffering from a rare condition called congenital hydrocephalus which caused her head to grow four times its normal size. This condition can also cause problems with brain development.
The 3D printing technology has seen a lot of innovations in the additive manufacturing industry as well as aerospace technology. Recently, the medical industry has taken advantage of 3D printing in creating medical implants.
In fact, scientists from Germany’s Laser Zentrum Hannover were able to develop a laser melting process to create implants made from nickel-titanium, platinum or stainless steel. The new technology developed was called selective laser micro-melting process. The project w
The human brain is the most complex thing in the human body. Because it is the most important part of the body, it is protected by a thin layer called dura mater. The dura mater is divided into two complex layers. When surgeons need to conduct brain surgery, they need to cut through the protective layers as well as replace them after surgery; otherwise it will put the health of the patient at risk.
The problem is that the dura mater is very difficult to replace. However, researchers from the
Creating a natural bone with 3D printing is challenging. The problem with creating bioprinted bones is that the materials needed to create them have yet to be developed. Researchers from the Southern Medical University in Guangdong China developed pure bone structures using 3D bioprinting.
Led by Professor Huang Wenhua, the researchers were able to create the bioprinted bones using bone powder and bio-glue. Unlike most bone implants that are made from titanium powder, the researchers were the
3D printing, which is synonymous with additive manufacturing in the industrial sector, is now quite popularly used as part of the mainstream treatment in surgery. In fact 3D printing is now seen as a potentially crucial procedure to surgically treat unborn babies with abnormalities.
Researchers from the Colorado Fetal Care Center has been studying on how to use 3D printing to perform surgery to correct fetal defects. Traditionally, surgical procedures involving unborn babies present not only r
The use of 3D printing in medicine has taken the world by storm. Many countries like China, US and in Europe are now using 3D printing technology to treat patients suffering from different orthopedic disorders.
Recently, FDA approved the innovation of Joimax ®. This German company has developed minimally invasive methods for endoscopic spinal surgeries. The product that was approved is Endoscopic Lumbar Interbody Fusion (EndoLIF® On-Cage implant). The implants are printed using titanium and b
The sternum, commonly called breastbone, is a long and flat bony plate located on top of the heart and at the center of the chest. It connects the rib bones together and it functions in protecting the heart, lungs and blood vessels from physical trauma. However, certain conditions can lead to the disintegration of the sternum which include chest injuries and growth of tumor.
Researchers from the TangDu Hospital of the Fourth Military Medical University made the first 3D printed titanium sternum
Type 1 diabetes is a condition wherein the pancreas does not produce insulin necessary for delivering sugar to the cells to be converted into energy. Most patients with Type 1 diabetes usually show signs of the disease when they are still in their youth.
To date, Type 1 diabetes patients use insulin therapy together with other treatments to manage their condition and live healthy and long lives. However, scientists may have the solution for Type 1 diabetes through 3D bioprinting.
Researchers
3D bioprinting is very significant in the field of medicine, industrial engineering, pharmacology and materials construction. This is the reason why researchers from the University of Nottingham created a bioprinted material that works seemingly like play dough. This material is capable of enabling protein and cell transfer.
Lead researcher of the study Professor Jing Yang said that 'bioprinting is a very hot topic in tissue engineering'. The problem is that the output requires a good printing
Orbital hypertelorism is a disorder where there is an abnormal distance between the eyes. This is caused by the abnormal development of the bones in the forehead during infancy stage. This condition is often a syndrome of many diseases like Edwards disease and Loeys-Dietz syndrome.
Recently, an Indian-based company called Osteo3D created a solution for people suffering from this condition. Dr. Sathish Vasishta and Dr. Derick Mendonca from Sakra Hospital in Bangalore used a 3D printed model to
3D printing is used in bioengineering patient compatible organs and cell structures but it is also used in the side of the pharmaceutical industry. A group of researchers from the University College London’s School of Pharmacy used 3D printing to explore the effects of geometry on the characteristics of drug release on pills and tablets. Their study aims to produce differently-shaped tablets that are difficult to create using traditional methods.
Traditional methods in creating tablets is fabri
China has about 1.5 million patients who suffer from organ failure every year and only 10,000 of these patients get organ transplantation due to shortage of donor organs. According to Shanghai’s National Business Daily, 3D printing is a very promising technology that may help the organ transplantation shortage in China.
Chen Jiming, an engineering professor from Beijing University of Technology, noted that using 3D printing technology in the field of medicine is a long process thus the medical
The medical application of 3D printing has been profound over the years. One of the breakthroughs involving this technology was the successful skull transplantation conducted by doctors from the Universidade Estadual de Campinas in Brazil.
The first ever surgical procedure involving 3D printing technology, doctors transplanted a 3D printed titanium skull on a 23-year old patient suffering from a horrible head fracture that left a 12 cm hole across her skull. Without this medical intervention, t
3D printing is very helpful in the field of medicine. In fact, many hospitals from different countries in Europe are now using 3D printing to create human bones used in bone surgery. The Japanese company, Next 21, is behind the endeavor of developing artificial bone graphs using 3D printing. It aims to replace the methods of traditional bone grafting that does not only take a lot of time but also effort and money.
The technology developed by Next 21 is called CT-Bone where the CT scans of the p
3D printing technology has made it possible for people to create human organs in reality. There are now many 3D printing companies that have invested in technology to improve the field of medical technology. One such company is CELLINK which created a universal bioink aimed at printing live and functional human tissue models.
Each day, more than 20 patients die while waiting for an organ transplant. With the revolutionary bioink from CELLINK, it is possible to manufacture “donor” organs artif
3D printing is no longer restricted to creating 3D surgical models. Recently, this technology is used to create helpful medical devices to alleviate patients suffering from different conditions. One of the recent innovations in 3D printing technology was spearheaded by researchers from the University of Michigan. The researchers were able to create customized CPAP or respiratory masks to help improve the condition of patients suffering from breathing inefficiency.
This 3D printed medical devi
