The revolutionary 3D printer which prints body parts
Originally used to cheaply and quickly make prototypes, 3-D printing has lately gained momentum as a (cheap, quick) manufacturing endpoint in and of itself.
The technology redefines the phrase “broadly applicable:” it’s been used for architecture, industrial design, automotive and aerospace engineering, the military, civil engineering, fashion and food.
In medicine, it has had most success with prosthetics, dental work and hearing aids, which can all be made from plastic or pliable materials and often need to be tailored to a specific patient. But scientists have also worked out, at least in theory, how to print blood vessels, skin, even embryonic stem cells.
There are three categories of 3D printing
Scaffolding
But with 3-D printing, doctors aren’t limited to those six knees. They can design one specific to each patient.
Patients with custom knees don’t have to lose extra inches of bone, instead the surgeon can cut at the optimal point, which could lead to faster recovery times and better functionality.
Strong, flexible new knee joints mimicking bone and cartilage can now be printed with nylon. These surgeries are available at top-tier medical facilities like the Mayo Clinic.
Medical Devices
Most hearing aids are already 3-D printed, since these have always been customized to the user, and scanning, modelling and printing saves time over casting a handmade mold of the inner ear. What used to take a week now takes less than a day. Similarly, making crowns and dental implants used to take two weeks, but now can happen while the patient reads a magazine in the waiting room.
Hospitals buy medical devices in bulk and 3-D printing their own devices, which don’t often need customization, doesn’t offer much advantage. Printing may be best for when doctors need to create a new device on demand for rare, unpredictable conditions.
Human Tissues
Scientists have printed artificial meat tissue suitable for eating, but making tissues and organs that maintain life has been much harder. So far, printed bits of functional liver tissue in Petri dishes could be viable for testing drugs, and larger models have been useful for surgeons to practice technique.
Originally used to cheaply and quickly make prototypes, 3-D printing has lately gained momentum as a (cheap, quick) manufacturing endpoint in and of itself.
The technology redefines the phrase “broadly applicable:” it’s been used for architecture, industrial design, automotive and aerospace engineering, the military, civil engineering, fashion and food.
In medicine, it has had most success with prosthetics, dental work and hearing aids, which can all be made from plastic or pliable materials and often need to be tailored to a specific patient. But scientists have also worked out, at least in theory, how to print blood vessels, skin, even embryonic stem cells.
There are three categories of 3D printing
Scaffolding
But with 3-D printing, doctors aren’t limited to those six knees. They can design one specific to each patient.
Patients with custom knees don’t have to lose extra inches of bone, instead the surgeon can cut at the optimal point, which could lead to faster recovery times and better functionality.
Strong, flexible new knee joints mimicking bone and cartilage can now be printed with nylon. These surgeries are available at top-tier medical facilities like the Mayo Clinic.
Medical Devices
Most hearing aids are already 3-D printed, since these have always been customized to the user, and scanning, modelling and printing saves time over casting a handmade mold of the inner ear. What used to take a week now takes less than a day. Similarly, making crowns and dental implants used to take two weeks, but now can happen while the patient reads a magazine in the waiting room.
Hospitals buy medical devices in bulk and 3-D printing their own devices, which don’t often need customization, doesn’t offer much advantage. Printing may be best for when doctors need to create a new device on demand for rare, unpredictable conditions.
Human Tissues
Scientists have printed artificial meat tissue suitable for eating, but making tissues and organs that maintain life has been much harder. So far, printed bits of functional liver tissue in Petri dishes could be viable for testing drugs, and larger models have been useful for surgeons to practice technique.
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