Additive Manufacturing Strategies event will be going live on 29^th-31^st January, 2018 in Boston, which will revolve around the trends and future of 3D Printing in Medicine and Dentistry. With workshops, startup competitions and exhibitions, SmarTech analysts giving overviews of developments; the event will aim consultants, business development people, leaders in manufacturing and operations people who have a significant role in future of 3D Printing in medical field.

Oxford Performance Materials Inc., a Connecticut-based company known for its 3D Printed Implants close to bones with osteoconductive properties and PEKK, has recently been accredited as a foreign medical device manufacturer by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare. Now able to serve over 14 countries of Asia in a partnership with JSR Corp. of Tokyo, OPM looks forward to expanding the reach of 3D Printing to far horizons.

Atrial Fibrillation or irregular rapid heartbeats affect many people worldwide with major causing death, and surgeons use cardiac catheter devices to map a heart’s electrical activity, which can also be used to detect rhythm disturbances in a patient’s heartbeats and ultimately identifying which part of heart is affected. The one size of these cardiac catheter devices makes it hard to catch these irregular heartbeats due to missed signals and spotty connections. A team of researchers from Stanford University has developed customized 3D Printed Cardiac Catheter Devices that fit each individual’s heart by recording an image file of the heart during an MRI or CT scan.

3D Bioprinting company Allevi, formerly known as BioBots and California-based 3D printing and space technology firm Made In Space, have partnered to develop the Allevi ZeroG – the first 3D bioprinter in space launched at the recent ISS Conference in San Francisco, and also found the first two users of the new 3D bioprinting platform in Astronauts, Mark Vendei Hei and Randy Bresnik. Allevi also developed a compatible extruder, fittingly called the ZeroG bio-extruder, that is able to be outfitted onto Made In Space’s Additive Manufacturing Facility currently on board the ISS.

A group of students from Santa Clara University have developed a partially 3D printed wristband prototype that uses body heat, ambient air and heat sinks to create a temperature difference across thermoelectric modules, which generates extremely low voltage electrical power required to run the device itself. The device consists of four subsystems: power generation, voltage boost, battery charging and wearability and the device was 3D Printed using Formalabs Form 2 3D printer.

Politecnico di Torino student, Viola Sgarminato in his thesis, used a combination of electrospinning and 3D printing with an EnvisionTEC 3D-Bioplotter to develop scaffolds that would promote healing by electrically stimulating skin cells. These wound repairing and dressing scaffolds were then seeded with cells, which were then evaluated 24 and 72 hours later. The composite wound dressings were also examined using a scanning electron microscope to verify the adhesion of the fibers to the scaffold, and good results were shown: even if subjected to mechanical stretching, the fibers remained attached to the substrate.

Duke University Football Team’s star quarterback, Daniel Jones, fractured his clavicle on September 8^th, when Clark Bulleit and Kevin Gehsmann, seniors of team started working on Custom-Fit 3D Printed Wrist Brace for Jones, finally creating nine prototypes altogether, using a basic 3D printer before turning to a PolyJet printer for the final product. The 3D Printed Brace prevents damage to the initial fracture point and helped Jones return to the field.

A group of researchers from Alfred State College, one of eight Colleges of Technology within the State University of New York (SUNY) system used 3D printing and SOLIDWORKS modeling to develop a novel, imprinted micro check valve for Intravenous Transfusions. Using a Form 2 3D Printer, they were able to print the parts modeled at SOLIDWORKS, which included Ball, Valve Inlet and Perforated Ring Outlet which was then coated with thin layer of parylene for safety in humans. The tests showed that the check valve design allowed for zero backward flow while also allowing flow through the device in the proper direction at a rate of 98.6 μl/sec

Giza Systems recognized the project called Project Nitrous inspired by the work of Mohamed El-Hossary and Ahmed Mohsen, whose aim was to support and boost the work being done for people with disabilities (PwDs). Project Nitrous is extending its work into four main tracks: Creating assistive devices, Giving people with disabilities the technical knowledge to design their own tools, Creating a startup extension of the project run by people with disabilities and Providing a blueprint for others who want to start similar businesses and creating an open-source community where designs and tools are accessible to all. Project Nitrous was officially born in February 2018, and has helped 23 people so far, with 18 additional projects currently in progress.

Kai von Petersdorff-Campen, a doctoral student in the mechanical and process engineering department at ETH Zurich, revealed his prototype of Magnet-Plastic Heart made through 3D Printing which took him 15 hears. The method, so called embedded magnet printing, involved 3D printing the magnets directly in the plasti and making processing them into filament strands, before they are 3D printed using FDM technology. The prototype of 3D printed heart pump was able to successfully pump 2.5 liters per minute with 1,000 rotations, but still needs to meet the required standards.

Researchers from MIT and Draper University have developed a 3D Printed Microfluidic Device called Tumor Analysis Platform or TAP that simulates cancer treatments on biopsied cancerous tissue. 3D Printable in about an hour, the Chip device uses the biopsied tumor fragments placement in a chamber connected to a network of deliver fluids to the tissue and contains a new type of biocompatible resin, Pro3dure GR-10 Resin, that can support the long-term survival of biopsied tissue. The TAP is cheap and easy to fabricate and adaptable for clinical use.

Two volunteers, Cristian Fracassi and Alessandro Romaioli, from Italy, used 3D Printing to create replicas of medical valves used in life-saving treatment of Corona Virus. However, the company with original patent denied them the files for creating them, but they also didn't sue them for creating illegal copies of their device. The Medical valves costing 10,000-11,000 USD, was created for as low as 1 USD and distributed in hospitals in Italy facing severe shortage of them.

Molybdenum or Mo-99 decays into technetium-99m, which is then used to detect bone decay, heart disease, and rare cancers,but costs roughly $1,000 per gram. A team of Researchers from DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory have successfully developed the recylcing process of Molybdenum using 3D printed acrylic contactors. To counteract the corrosion of contractors by acids used in recycling process, they turned to polyetheretherketone, or PEEK, which is more durable than the original acrylic plastic they were using, and also resists the Argonne recycling method’s organic solvents and mineral acids.

Zortrax recently launched two brand new Resins for its latest Inkspire 3D Printing Platform for dental and prosthetic applications. Raydent Crown & Bridge is class IIa biocompatible, lasts 30 days, is safe for human contact and can boasts high abrasion resistance guaranteeing permanent smooth surfaces and anatomical shape for the duration of its usage. Another product involved Raydent Surgical Guide, Class I biocompatibility, which is safe for transient contact with human tissue, translucent to enhance visibility, features high dimensional accuracy to enable correct placement of implants or guidance for tools, and low viscosity and water resistance to make the guides easy to wash.

Researchers from UK and Spain used 3D Printing to help Visually Impaired using Printlets with Braille and Moon patterns. SLS 3D printing was used to fabricate the orally disintegrating printlets (ODPs) with Braille and Moon patterns, allowing patients to have fast knowledge regarding medication where Paracetamol was used as the model drug. The researchers believe this will encourages self-administration of medicines, improving patient compliance and treatment efficacy.

Researchers from China worked on a study that involved comparing 3D Print in pre-operative care to three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) in Thoracoscopic Pulmonary Segmentectomy for Cancer Patients. 124 selected patients were divided into three groups- General, 3D-T and 3D Printing; and Pre-operative 3D image reconstruction was performed to view and reconstruct 3D images of the nodules, bronchi, and pulmonary vessels and the models were then printed on a Lite600HD 3D printer. 3D Printing Group was found to have decreased Intraoperative blood loss and reduced time of procedures.

Read More: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6976356/

3D printing start-up Copper3D, based in Chile and the US, worked towards using Nano-Copper additives, and adding antimicrobial properties to polymers like PLA and TPU to create antibacterial 3D printed objects. Now, their team of researchers have come up with “Viral Inactivation System for a Breast milk Shield to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV”, a 3D Printed Device that can effectively inactivate the HIV virus under the right conditions on certain objects. The Split-Sample Study on 20 Samples revealed reduction in transmission, close to 100%.

Researchers from China worked towards upgrading the routes of administering Anti-Cancer drugs using 3D Printing. With interstitial permanent radioactive seed implantation, cancer patients can receive large, localized doses for treating tumours. While most seeds are implanted using Ultrasound or CT these days, the research revolved around using 3D-PCT-guided seed implantation, assisted by CT processes, which makes implantation is ‘suitable’ for salvage treatment of recurrent and metastatic solid tumours. The Standard workflows for CT-assisted 3D-PCT-guided seed implantation included: Patient position fixation, CT-simulated positioning, Pre-planning design, 3D-PCT image production, Stabilization by 3D-PCT, Needle puncture for seed implantation, Implantation of seeds and Post-plan evaluation.

Researchers from Seoul, Korea, worked towards using 3D Printing to enhance Spine Surgeries by creating a new Endoscope-Assisted Spine Surgery System involving combined cannula, featuring one cannula for the endoscope and the other for surgical instruments, with major and minor axis diameters of 10.34 mm and 9.16 mm, respectively. The creation of Test Spine Model involved: Create 3D Design from 2D data from MRI and CT scans; 3D Print spine components; Fabricate silicone molds with the 3D printed spine components; Make spine components with required properties and Assemble the patient-specific model. Imaging data was imported to slicing software, with models then 3D printed on a Creatable D3.

An international Team of Bioengineers from the Bio-Microrobotics Laboratory of the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST) partnered with the Ajou University and Microsystems Lab of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), using the Nanoscribe Photonic Professional system to create microstructure scaffolds for the Cochlear implant. Accompanied by a high-precision 3D printed steroid reservoir with a 2D MEMS-based electrode array, the medical device- “Germany’s Nanoscribe” is meant to allow patients to hear better—and by avoiding insertion trauma, preserves what hearing ability they still possess. The implant is designed to reduce the damage of residual hearing against electrode insertion trauma.

When it comes to Needles, everyone fears the prick. A Team of Researchers in China set out on path to 3D Print Hydrogel Microneedles that can be used for various clinical purposes involving drug loading, reducing pain and greatly increasing the drug loading capacity. They created creating high-performance yet affordable hydrogel Microneedles through high-precision digital light processing (H-P DLP). Upon completing the study, the authors noted 300ms as the ‘ideal exposure time’ for building Microneedles.

Thomas Campbell and James F.X. Jones, Researchers from School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Ireland, have a created a new Open-Source 3D Printer relying on an XYZ positioning system capable of moving a sensor or probe. The latest FDM printer is run by a standard Raspberry Pi 3, incorporated with Open Computer Vision Library (OpenCV), Arduino Mega, RAMPS 1.4 motor shield, and NEMA17 bipolar stepper motors and approximately cost around $670.20. The applications include: Automated Microscopy Script that links seamlessly with image stitching plugins in ImageJ (Fiji) allowing the user to create high resolution montages application of graded rates of stretch to muscle spindles, a component of reflexes in our human body.

A Team of researchers from Boston and India used 3D Printing to enhance the Applicators used in PDT for Oral Cancer Treatment. PDT or Photodynamic Therapy is a light based spatially-targeted cytotoxic therapy that targets cancer cells. They developed an Intraoral Light Delivery System consisting of modular 3D Printed Light Applicators with pre-calibrated dosimetry and mouth props that can be utilized to perform PDT in conscious subjects without the need of extensive infrastructure or manual positioning of an optical fiber. The Applicators were tested on five subjects with T1N0M0 oral lesions where no residual cancer cells were noted after the treatment. The team used Autodesk Fusion 360 to design the light applicators, and they were printed on a Stratasys Objet Pro system out of VeroBlue and VeroBlack filament.

Researchers from Taiwan performed an ANOVA study to determine the effectiveness of 3D Printing in helping people with Flat Foot. 18 Foot Orthoses (FO) samples were 3D Printed at orientations of 0°, 45°, and 90°, and subjected to human motion analysis, with 12 flatfooted individuals. 3D scans of the participants’ feet were exported as an STL file, which was edited with Autodesk Meshmixer software and 3D Printed out of PLA filament on an Infinity X1 FDM 3D printer. The build parameters of the FOs were defined using Ultimaker Cura 3.3 software. The results indicated that the 45° build orientation produced the strongest FOs. In addition, the maximum ankle evertor and external rotator moments under the Shoe+FO condition were significantly reduced by 35% and 16%, respectively, but the maximum ankle plantar flexor moments increased by 3%, compared with the Shoe condition.