CADskills, a medical device startup from Belgium uses 3D Printing Technology to produce patient-specific implants for craniomaxillofacial (CMF) and neurosurgery patients, including its innovative AMSJI, a new generation of subperiosteal implant for extreme maxillary atrophy. To counter bone atrophy, AMSJI eliminates the bone grafting process and its months of recovery time and the surgery takes around 1 hour. These Titanium implants are 3D Printed using Mimics Innovation Suite (MIS) from Materialise.

A group of researchers from the Sri Rajiv Gandhi College of Dental Sciences & Hospital in Bangalore, India evaluated the marginal accuracy of Cobalt-Chromium copings (thin covering of the tooth’s crown portion) fabricated using DMLS, computer-aided milling, traditional casting, and ringless casting and comparatively analyze the marginal discrepancy. They used typodont resin model made of silicone impression material and 40 copings, for which they used 3D laser scanner from 3Shape to obtain an indirect impression of the tooth model, and then used the data to design the coping in 3Shape’s CAD software program, before they were 3D printed on an EOSINT M 270 3D printer from EOS.

A group of researchers from Imperial College, London is studying how malaria is transmitted, which requires mosquito test subjects to be infected with Plasmodium gametocytes – the blood stage parasites that actually cause malaria. In a Standard Membrane Feeding Assay (SMFA) test, an artificial membrane feeding apparatus, which simulates the host’s skin and body temperature, is used to get the mosquitoes to eat reconstituted blood containing the gametocytes. The researchers created the two-part membrane feeder design using the free, open source CAD modeling program Art of Illusion, then had Shapeways 3D print the parts out USP VI medical-grade “Fine Detail Plastic” acrylic resin (VisiJet M3 Crystal).

Kijenzi, a tech startup with co-founders John K. Gershenson, Benjamin Savonen and students, was born out of Penn State Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship program (HESE), and their recent objective was to provide 3D printers to clinics in more distant areas of Kenya. To further the cause, they worked on CAD files that can be accessed by the medical teams at Kenyan clinics to fabricate their own 3d printed equipments. Their new system of 3D Printing and Medical Supply Chain has won them the second place in IdeaMakers Challenge also.