Educational pathway for medical 3D printing

[Dr. Mike]

I was recently asked this question and I am sharing the answer with the group in hopes that somebody will find it helpful. 

 

Question:

 

"I am a teacher at a High School in Arizona, we recently built a FAB LAB (digital fabrication facility) and are interested in starting a medical imaging class/club.  We have several medical professionals, Dentist, Orthopedic Surgeon, General Practice, Physical Therapist and Medical researchers, who are interested in volunteering in to help with this program.  Our goal is twofold, one to increase student interest in pursuing medical professions and two to give students an avenue for employment in the emerging 3D medical imaging field.  Ultimately our goal would be to have a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program where students could graduate with some sort of certificate indicating competency. 

 

My question is, are there recommended training/certification programs that we need to consider and implement?   What are your recommendations for us moving forward with this program.  Any information you could provide would be appreciated."

 

Answer:

" Hello ______

Just to clarify, are you talking about medical 3D Printing? If so, there is currently no such certification program in this technology. One basic requirement is an understanding of medical imaging technologies, so I would say a bare minimum to do medical 3D printing would be a certification as a CT or MRI technologist, which have established training pathways for post-secondary education. Here is a link.

 

https://study.com/ct_technician.html

 

You would then have to obtain experience with 3D printing, of which there is no formal pathway. Of course, you can obtain greater imaging expertise as a radiologist, which is 4 years of med school and 6 of residency and fellowship after college. Again, there is still no formal pathway for the actual 3D printing component of this.

 

Hope this helps."

[Leesajohnson]

Thank you for a post.  It will help you in learning about medical 3D printing.

[Arish Mousaeezadeh]

I am an orthopedic technicians student and I really want to develop my career in medical 3D Design. To construct and modeling and print Prothese or orthese. 

3D printing is now is new tech in orthopedic But now I’m confused about my direction after finishing my study. Is there a university major in this Field? Or  which way is possible?

tnx

On 5/4/2018 at 3:11 PM, Leesajohnson said:

Thank you for a post.  It will help you in learning about medical 3D printing.