There's been a lot of recent advances in 3D printing, but the technology has long enjoyed a niche in medical and dental applications.
For years, dental labs have leveraged CAD and 3D printing technologies to improve the quality and precision of dental parts such as crowns, bridges, and a range of orthodontic appliances. New materials like Objet's biocompatible transparent offering and 3D Systems' Accura e-Stone are opening up new possibilities and bringing down costs. On the heels of this success, medical providers are following suit, diving into the exploration of 3D print technologies for producing everything from custom prosthetics to hearing aids.
There's even research at play to push 3D printing technology into novel areas. For example, researchers are exploring ways to use 3D printers to create human organs and tissues and serve as home dispensers for outputting drug prescriptions.
Click on the image below to see how 3D printing is fast becoming a medical Rx.
Medical device makers are leveraging 3D printers to model internal organs and other human parts to help guide physicians through complex procedures. In one example, CAD models based on CT scan data are created and then output through 3D printers such as Stratasys's uPrint SE model. (Source: Stratasys)
Beth, nice article and very interesting. My medical knowledge is not enough to be dangerous but when I see the terms "biocompatible" and "create human organs" I'm thinking this would be great if this was used to 3D a human's heart, lung or other organ for transplanting. Eliminating the need for a live donor and hopefully decreasing the chances of the body rejecting the organ.
Yes, the cojoined twins "app" was astonishing.Thanks, Beth, for an instructive, enlightening presentation on quite a wide range of uses for 3D printing in medical and dental engineering.
You are correct. We had a small demo done to us before our sons surgery. the surgent took the whole section apart to review the procedure. It is realy great that 3D is being used in such important applications.
Not only delicate, but demanding in terms of materials variety and the flexibility required. 3D printing makes so much sense because so many medical applications require custom fit and specifications tailored for individual patient. With continuous improvements and with prices on the technology coming down, it's a perfect match.
It's astounding to see what 3D printing is capable of. A human mandible, artificial blood vessels and a human foot (which has 26 bones, I looked it up) -- these are delicate, complex tasks.
Inspiring article which reminds me how we can continue to use new technolgy to make postive impacts in people's lives. It seems that Medical 3D printing is poised to take off in many different directions and I'm thinking that some of these new applications will be commonplace in the years to come.
Your articles are giving us a good education on the uses and development of 3D printing. Some of the comments from earlier 3D printing articles go into detail on the use of the technology and the value it gives the design engineer. From what I'm hearing, the devices do save time and dollars, even though there are glitches along the way.
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