A lot of remarkable applications of 3D printing are discovered each day, and one of the latest innovations were used by Chinese surgeons to conduct a delicate spinal surgery. Doctors from the Orthopaedic Hospital in Zhengzhou China treated a 28-year old patient suffering from a condition called atlantoaxial dislocation which causes the nerves near the end of her spinal cord to compress which leads to the inability of movement and lack of feeling on her extremities.
As the spinal cord is consid
3D bioprinting proves to be an indispensable technology in the field of medical research. Aside from creating precise medical models and prosthetics, it is now used to help improve the lives of patients suffering from different conditions.
Researchers from Michigan Technological University see the potential of using 3D bioprinters in synthesizing nerve tissues. Researchers are investigating the appropriate “bioink” to create printable tissues including nerve cells. The bioink is a nanotechnolog
3D bioprinting holds the key to the future organ replacement. One of the recent developments involving this technology is the restoration of joint cartilage. Researchers from the Technische Universitat Munchen are currently investigating a novel 3D printing method that uses a combination of hydrogels and microfiber scaffolding. The result is a structured product that closely resembles a natural joint cartilage.
To create the structure, the researchers used a new additive manufacturing technique
The world has seen a lot of innovations with 3D printing technology. Recently, bioengineers from the Swansea University in Wales developed a way to create 3D printed organs using representative biological structures.
The biodegradable tissue scaffold dubbed as Celleron comes with a liquid biopolymer and a filament derivative. Led by Dr. Dan Thomas, the engineers from the Swansea University was able to create this material and replicate the underlying structures of complex tissues. Celleron c
3D printing is not only used to create prosthetics but it has a lot of medical applications. Researchers from the University of Michigan used 3D printers to create splints made from compatible biomaterials to help children suffering from airway anomalies such as tracheobronchomalacia which is a condition that causes the airways to spontaneously collapse.
Children born with airway anomalies do not have any treatment options except surgery. But the problem with conventional surgical procedures
There are many applications of 3D printing in the medical world and it is no longer surprising if experts in this field will develop even more outrageous uses for it. While it is common to hear about 3D printed bones or other important organs of the body, some researchers have already taken 3D printing to the next level by printing body parts which 3D printers do not commonly print.
German cosmetic industry giant Anita has recently used 3D printers to create breast prosthetics. The breast pros
3D printing has made its way in medical technology. In fact, there are many uses of 3D printing in medicine. One of the most innovative uses of 3D printing was developed by doctors in Zhujiang Hospital in China by using it to study a very complex surgical procedure called liver resection surgery.
Professor of Department of Hepatobiliary in Zhujiang Hospital Fang Chihua noted that surgically removing tumor in the liver is very difficult if conventional imaging methods are used. Without sufficie
Synthetic eyeballs are possible in the near future thanks to 3D printing. While 3D bioprinting was already able to produce tissues for kidneys, nose, skin and bones, researchers find developing the technology to make 3D printed eyes elusive.
However, a company from Italy called MHOX has proposed an idea for synthetic eyeballs that can be produced by using 3D printer. To make this synthetic eyeball more interesting, it comes with a wide variety of functions thus making this innovation close to w
Three-dimensional printing has propelled major innovations in different areas of education, art, engineering, manufacturing and medicine. Recent advances on 3D bioprinting have helped revolutionized how doctors are able to deal with complicated illnesses and injuries. A lot of patients were able to benefit from this remarkable medical application from 3D printed prosthetic legs to medical models that guide surgeons conducting complex procedures.
3D printing has also helped in creating facial
The most common applications of 3D printing in medical technology is in orthopedics. However, medical 3D printing has been innovated so that it is now used to create synthetic organs for pathological studies of diseases.
The researchers from the Tulane University School of Medicine have been working with 3D printing to create models of soft tissue tumors. The researchers hope to use the models to study the condition of the soft tissue tumor in their individual patients. The models can also h
The skin is the largest organ of the body and many researchers show interest on this particular organ as it serves as the body’s first line of defense against pathogens. The skin is made up of tissues that have a semi-permeable capacity. This means that it only allows certain substances in and keeps others out. The skin is considered as the most durable organ of the body that can withstand different types of elements. Cosmetic company L’ Oreal has teamed up with 3D printing company Organovo to
In the field where innovation can help save lives, 3D medical printing is a very promising technology that can empower healthcare providers and medical researchers. The use of 3D printing technology has been around since 1980, but has only recently been used in the field of medical science.
There are many established applications of 3D medical printing. It is commonly used to manufacture hearing aids. In fact, there are more than 10 million 3D printed hearing aids that have been produced and di
Synthesizing smaller molecules to explore different compounds in the field of medicine and technology, as a whole, can offer immense potential. However, the problem of synthesizing molecules is that it is a time consuming process and not all researchers have access to molecule-synthesizing tools.
Recently, researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have simplified a way to manufacture small molecules from a common set of building blocks using specialized 3D printers for small molecule
3D printers are not only helpful in fixing anything broken in human patients but also on pets. Leading 3D printing company 3D Systems have developed a technology that can help disabled dogs get back on their feet.
The technology, dubbed as 3D printed metal orthopedic knee implants, is able to fabricate titanium implants for dogs to help veterinarians treat canine patients suffering from disability. With this technology, disabled dogs are able to walk and run freely again within as little as six
Orbital rim fractures refer to the injury around the outer edges of the eye socket. Such injuries are obtained by extreme force like in car accidents. This injury can lead to serious repercussions to the vision, blurry and double vision among many others is examples of which.
Small orbital rim fractures are treated with ice packs and antibiotics but these treatments no longer work for larger and more complicated fractures. Ophthalmologists need to resort to surgical procedures to treat patients
The future of regenerative medicine lies on the advancements of technologies such as 3D printing. Recently, 3D medical printing has led to the reproduction of cartilages, bones as well as other soft tissues. One of the leading countries when it comes to 3D medical printing is China. Scientists from the Xi’an Particle Cloud Advanced Materials Technology Co., Ltd. have successfully developed patented 3D printing process to create the biodegradable artificial bone structures. To create the bone s
3D bioprinting has changed the field of medicine. Recently, 3D printing companies are successful in printing living human tissues; but one company that stands out, is using 3D printed algae to sustain bioprinted human cells.
Researchers from the Technische Universitat Dresden in Germany together with the Center for Translational Bone, Joint and Soft Tissue Research were able to create 3D printed algae to sustain their bioprinted human cells. The 3D printed algae are filled with hydrogel scaffo
3D Systems, A company that specializes in 3D printing, announced new training modules to help doctors and medical students treat different maladies. The company is expanding the digital surgical tools to include accurate 3D anatomical models of different organs of the body, virtual reality simulators, 3D printed surgical guides and direct metal printing for orthopedic surgery.
The company develops different groundbreaking 3D printed technology to help doctors train as well as plan complex med
3D printing has gone a long way from being utilized in creating medical models to creating real organs. Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland were able to create noses using a 3D bioprinter. The method of 3D bioprinting nose implants was developed by a team of researchers led by Marcy Zenobi-Wong and Matti Kesti. The 3D bioprinted noses can be used as implants on people who are suffering from nose anomalies due to genetic problems or because of injur
The 3D printing technology has proven its benefits to the field of medicine. Recently, researchers from the Japanese company Fasotec created realistic 3D printed models of lungs based on the patented technology called Biotexture Wet Models. This particular technology allows surgeons as well as medical students to practice surgical training on almost realistic lungs that do not only have textures similar to real lungs but also comes complete with blood vessels.
The reason for the development
Human engineering may no longer be a topic mostly discussed in science fiction books and movies. With the availability of 3D printer, this may well happen sooner than you may think. Recently, a Japanese firm, Cyfuse Biomedical, developed a way to produce human tissues and combine it with robotic technology.
The company developed a robot-controlled 3D printer dubbed as Regenova which has the ability to make living cells aggregate to form artificial human tissues. The company is very excited to
3D Systems, a company involved in producing innovative medical technologies has developed an all-in-one 3D printer. The new 3D printer is called ProJet 3510 DPPro. This printer is designed for both medical and dental lab applications thus it can be used to create medical and dental models.
The best thing about this 3D printer is that it comes with customization qualities that allow users speedy production of models and guides for biocompatible plastic materials. Another feature of this all-in-o
3D bioprinting is an emerging technology in the field of medical science. Aside from creating 3D replica of the organs of the body, 3D printing can also be used to help end donor organ shortage. Researchers are now working on using 3D printing to fabricate different organs like the heart, kidneys and other important human organs.
Researchers from the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine led by Dr. Anthony Atala are now working on 3D bioprinting to end donor organ shortage. The goal
3D printing has tremendous benefits in society. Recently, doctors from Brazil used 3D printing to treat patients suffering from disorders that are thought to be inoperable. One of the disorders that are inoperable is the Kleeblattschadel syndrome which is also called the Cloverleaf skull syndrome. It is a neuro-craniofacial disorder characterized by the abnormal soldering of the skull bones. As a consequence, patients suffering from this condition have extremely poor physical and mental health.
Cells grown under laboratory conditions has been an achievable technology developed a few decades ago. However, researchers are now looking at innovative ways to improve the process of growing new cells that can speed up the process of drug testing.
Researchers, from the Heriot-Watt University, have developed a new valve-based technique that can print embryonic cell cultures using 3D bioprinters. Led by Dr. Will Shu, he and his colleagues from the Biomedical Microengineering group pioneered 3D
