3D printing technology has been used to print several parts of human body, but it's on call use has never been so fascinating. The new Biopen uses hyrdogel bio-inkto create mid-surgery cartilage implants which yield a cell survival rate of an impressive 97 percent, and further extends the realm of possibility for 3D printing in medicine.

A 54 year old Australian patient of cancer received Titanium rib cage and sternum after considering the option better than plate implants. CSIRO, the federal government agency for scientific research in Australia, claimed their 3D printed titanium model was perfect for identically mimicking the intricate structures of the sternum and ribs and the patient was discharged healthy and recovered well.

3D printing may appear fantasy, but it's applications are far real than imagined. Nevertheless, with expanding future, it has already began to bring new lives to people. These 6 purely fascinating events including cranium, vertebra, rib cage, nose, airway and a new arm were some of the landmarks for 3D printing emerging as marvels of technology.

New York state resident Theresa Flint was diagnosed with an aneurysm but it became worse when surgery couldn't be done due to complications. Stratasys, leading 3D printing production, helped the surgeons develop 3D model of cerebral vessels of Flint and a successful brain surgery.

Using the 3D printing technology, Doctors of University of Michigan successfully performed a surgery on a foetus. The unknown abnormality could have block the baby's airway at birth, but 3D Printed model of foetus face using MRI removed the guesswork of the surgery.

Patient with Ankle deformity usually undergo surgery taking other bones from the patient to repair the defect part, which is often painful with prolonged recovery. However, Surgeons at Southeast Hospital, China, used 3D Printed implant and fixation plate to replace the defect part.

Headed by Dr. Michael Chae, a plastic surgery resident and PhD candidate at the Melbourne, Australia-based Monash University, the research team disclosed how 4D computed tomography (CT) scans of the bones of a patient’s hand could be used to create 4D models. These models, printed by Cube 2 desktop 3D printer, were able to accurately replicate hand movement during thumb abduction, opposition, and key pinch, giving surgeons vital information about a patient’s specific physiology.

Josh Stephenson, a graphic designer underwent surgery to remove his left eye, upper left jaw and the roof of his mouth after failure of radiation treatment for malignant melanoma. Using a 3D-scanned and printed copy of Stephenson's skull and scapular bone, Andrew Dawood, a dentist with Dawood and Tanner, recreated his entire jaw.

10 months old conjoined twins, Knatalye Hope and Adeline Faith were facing difficulties as their organs were attached and couldn't be operated easily. However, surgeons at Texas Children’s Hospital used Materialise’s Mimics software to design a 3D-printed model using CT scans and finally separated them successfully after 30 hours and 26 clinicians team.

Medicrea, announced FDA approval of the first-ever patient-specific UNiD™Cervical rod for spine surgery, secured by their complementary PASS OCT® posterior cervical stabilization system. Being the only medical device company offering patient-specific implant solutions for spinal conditions, it rolled out it's first implantation of the UNiD™ Patient-Specific Cervical Rod in New York City on February 17,2016.

Grace, an 8 year-old from Zambia, Africa was suffering a craniofacial abnormality with further complications from infections. Though being controlled the infection, surgeons had to find a way to re-form her forehead for which they approached 3D Printed Models using CT scans. Following Virtual Surgical Planning, they finally operated with success.

BodyCad, a Quebec City-based developer and manufacturer of personalized orthopaedics, announced the introduction of Bodycad OnCall, its personalized, individually manufactured orthopaedic restorations for complex cases. The Bodycad OnCall is supposed to help surgeons with flexibility in design and manufacturing of a fully personalized restoration and considered ideal for oncology, revision and osteotomy.

Formalabs recently launched its Dental SG Resin, a certified biocompatible Class 1 material, designed specifically for creating high-precision surgical guides directly from 3D models. Marketed as first commercially available biocompatible resin for desktop printing, it will provide high-precision drill guides from digital scan data for implant surgeries.

3D Printed Hearts have been used by surgeons since long as the perfect virtual guide to surgeries. Since the Jump Trading Center of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center opened back in 2013, there have been alot of advancement, and now they have whole library with more than 40 3D printed hearts.

Doctors from the south China's Hunan Province recently performed a successful spinal surgery using 3D printing technology on a man suffering from spinal arthritis, leading to a severe humpback. With densely distributed nerves on spine, the surgery could have led to permanent paralysis.

Dr. Francis Patterson, the Attending Musculoskeletal Oncology Physician and Assistant Professor at University Hospital in Newark, was helped with 3D Printed model of a tumor which was to be resected from a patient's pelvic region. The CT scan and Imaging technology of the patient’s pelvic tumor and surrounding bone and tissues were used to 3D print the model .

Team of researchers at German Chemical Company, Evonik have developed 3d printed biocompatible implants as a substitute for metal implants with advantage of easy absorbability by human body. This 3D Printed biocompatible material will slowly dissolve inside bone as it heals, thereby eliminating need for surgical procedure.

Additive Orthopaedics, company specializing in additively manufactured surgical solutions, recently announced that it has successfully treated a series of patients suffering from painful hammertoes with its 3D printed hammertoe implant, which was recently cleared by FDA. While Greg Kowalczyk, President and Founder of Additive Orthopaedics, believes it was only possible with 3D Printing, he stated company is expected to get good response.

Surgeons in Sawai Man Singh hospital jaipur, india are now using 3D Printing Technology for removing gall bladder with cholelithiasis disease (Gall stones) and have conducted 22 successful surgeries so far within the last month. Doctors believe 3D Printing is better since the dual cameras in 3D technique provide 360 degree images, while with 2D Printing, they were only able to get 30 to 45 degrees angles and the surgeons have to rotate it while conducting the surgeries. Also, it reduced the time of surgery to 20-25 minutes.

Periodontist Professor Saso Ivanovski, from Griffith University’s Menzies Institute has announced that he has developed a way to engineer missing bone and tissue in the gums and jaw by using a patient’s own cells after 5 years of research. This will involve taking CT scan of patient's damaged region which will be sent to bioprinter to 3D Print new part and the whole procedure will decrease the significant pain, nerve damage and postoperative swelling. National Health and Medical Research Council has granted it $650,000 for the potential it holds in dental industry.

KLS Martin Group, a German medical-supply company will be opening its first U.S manufacturing facility in Jacksonville, according to Rick Scott’s Office. While the focus of the new operations will be on precision 3D printing and milling of products for reconstructive surgery, Tom Johnston of KLS Martin Manufacturing stated that the Jacksonville plant will not only be the first in North America, but the company’s first outside of Germany.

Professor Kenji Shimada and his research team from Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering have developed "Medical Phantom Model" ”, which uses 3D printing to create a realistic looking and feeling hands-on training model for surgeons and by using a clear ballistic gel, a 10% synthetic non-fouling gel material typically used for testing ammunition and to simulate bullet wounds. Currently it is being used for Clubfoot, or Congenital Talipes Equinovarus (CTEV), a congenital deformity which is distinguished by one or both feet being turned inwards and upwards and results in serious mobility problems if left untreated.

From 3D Printed Prosthetics, Super-Healing Casts, Hairs, Skin and 3D Printed Micro-Lens for surgery to Implants of almost every body part, 3D Printing is helping in medical field making everything possible for the miserable lives of patients. But what is the future of 3D Printing? One day we will be able to 3D Print entire human body from simple DNA, as some researchers have already started to work on 3D Printing Real Organs for transplants in human bodies.

A medical team of 8 members at Hong Kong-based Queen Elizabeth Hospital team used 3D printing technology to create a detailed heart model of their 77-year-old patient Shum. The medical specialists performed a surgery that involved the replacing of two heart valves through blood vessels in a single operation. The surgery with 3D Printing involved minimal invasiveness and was completed in just four hours.

Two female conjoined twins born at UF Health Shands Hospital in April were sharing thoraco-omphalopagus connection (joined by liver, diaphragm, sternum and heart) and required surgery to be separated. Using cardiac CT and MRI scans, Dr. Co-Vu and her team prepared the 3D model of their hearts and performed a successful surgery.

Dr. Nina Tandon, CEO of Epibne has started bioprinting human bones using CT scan and 3D model of it, which is then CNC milled with animal bone, following which, fat cells from patient are integrated with CNC milled animal bone. Plum Alley Investments, a private membership started by Deborah Jackson and Andrea Turner Moffit to support promising female entrepreneurs and gender-diverse teams, has announced funds of $560,000 to Epibone to support this 3D Printing initiative which will reduce the need for multiple surgeries.

The Texas-Based company, 4WEB Medical earlier received the FDA clearance for the four implant systems using patented truss technology and now, they have announced the first surgeries performed using Curved Posterior Spine Truss System (PSTS) for TLIF procedures in U.S. The key feature noted by the orthopedics using this implant is the truss structure that that strengthens and reinforces the capabilities of orthopedic implants.

Patient Robert Begent was treated with Kidney Transplant last year at Guy’s and St Thomas Hospital in London by Professor Prokar Das Gupta, a consultant urological surgeon at Guy’s and St Thomas. The surgery was aided by 3D Printing Technology in form of 3D Printed model. And this live surgery was recorded, which was shown at Worldwide Robotic Surgery 24-hour event by Worldwide Robotic Surgery Education (WRSE) recently.

SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri is named a “Best Children’s Hospital” by US News and World Report and is now receiving 3D Printing Center of Excellence with brand new Stratasys J750 multi-color multi-material 3D Printers. The center will serve as a space to facilitate innovation in multiple 3D printing-related medical areas, including pre-surgical preparation, medical research and patient treatment.

A 60-year-old man in Croatia had been suffering from an infection in his shoulder, resulting in him losing bone mass and mobility of his shoulder joint. A team of surgeons led by Nikola Matejčić, MD at the Clinic for Orthopaedics in Lovran, implanted a 3D Printed Shoulder which was created using a technology of additive manufacturing, namely the Trabecular Titanium 3D printing technology.

Victoria Sear, a graduate student from University of Michigan- Dearborn was introduced with 3D Printing Technology during an internship with SME and variety of things 3D Printing could offer. As a Bioengineering student, she was fascinated to learn about 3D Printed Prosthetics as replacement limbs, 3D Printed Heart models that were used to help prepare medical teams for surgical interventions, and a wide variety of medical devices that could be custom fabricated for patient-specific needs.

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), also known in English as Doctors Without Borders, a foundation that reached out to 3D Printing Technology for its hospital to treat war-wounded Iraqis without access to health care. As the reach extended, the MSF Foundation started providing 3D Printed Prosthetics to Syria, Palestine and Libya through the hospital’s reconstructive surgery program. These prosthetics are faster and cheaper to produce using desktop Ultimaker 3D Printer.

Dr. Christina Salas, PhD, a scientist at the University of New Mexico, is working on 3D Printed Ligaments which can allow for less-invasive surgery, and could be a more permanent solution as the synthetic 3D printed ligament would not wear out or weaken. Using the CT or MRI scan of patient’s damaged joint, an exact replica using 3D Bioprinting can be produced for replacement, and Dr. Salas has received a two-year, $150,000 grant for the research.

A group of researchers describe how they designed a novel multi-tool snake-like robot, called the i2 Snake (Intuitive Imaging Sensing Navigated and Kinematically Enhanced robot) for minimally invasive intraluminal surgery. They used a rolling-joint design, a bio-inspired mechanism that consists of two circular surfaces rolling against each other, however, standard rolling joints could slip, resulting in control inaccuracies or a dislocated joint. The researchers used an Mlab 3D printer from Concept Laser to manufacture a prototype of the optimized rolling joint which was then characterized in terms of precision and manipulation forces.

Paul D’Urso, MD, a neurosurgeon at Epworth Healthcare and the Executive Chairman of Australian medical device company Anatomics, together with Dr. Dan Rowe, engineers from the medical device company designed a 3D printed, patient-specific metacarpal implant to replace a patient’s two missing metacarpals and missing capitate that had resulted from his injury.  The implant was designed with titanium mesh and patient’s hand reconstruction surgery took place at Greenslopes Private Hospital in Queensland.

A study conducted at Technical University of Munich (TUM) described their virtual workflow, and also analyzed how effective semi-automated intraoral molding plate generation, or RapidNAM, is for helping to treat Cleft Lip and Palate (CLP). A 3D triangulation scanner from 3Shape in Denmark was used to digitalize the casts, and after creating a graphical user interface (GUI), an algorithm automatically detected the alveolar ridge, in order to find the monthly growth rate in the anatomical study of 32 healthy newborn babies. Special 3D software was used to help with plate expansions during the manual plate molding.

7-year-old Isaiah Onassis Goberdhan, son of Barnaby Goberdhan had an aggressive tumor in his palate and nasal cavity and required surgery to remove it and approached Dr. Neha A. Patel, MD, Nortwell Pediatric Otolaryngologist at Cohen Children’s Medical Center. Working with Todd Goldstein, PhD, a Northwell Health Researcher, Dr. Patel create a personalized 3D rendering of Isaiah’s palate, using his CT and MRI scans and Formlabs technology was used to 3D print an anatomical model with the tumor, and one with it removed, in order to help the doctors and the family physically visualize the entire procedure ahead of time.

Linh Nam, a Harvard College Student was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a cancerous tumor in the bone when she was just ten years old and had a section of bone removed from her leg with a gap left and upcoming 10 surgeries over a decade. However, she joined with Hala Zreiqat, biomedical engineering professor, to work on a project that aims to create a biocompatible, artificial material with the same strength and porosity as real bone using 3D printing. Professor Zreigat’s team finally found a way to generate a porous core of a novel multi-component ceramic for bone implants using 3D printing which will be available to public around 2019.

Paul D’urso, MD, Anatomics Founder and a neurosurgeon at Epworth Healthcare, had reported 700 spinal fusion procedures at the recent 3DHEALS conference in San Francisco. They also developed Atlantoaxial transarticular screw fixation, an effective technique for arthrodesis and discussed how biomodelling and 3D printing are both useful tools for pre-surgical planning, developing titanium implants and patient-specific tools, and intraoperative stereotaxy – a minimally invasive surgical procedure which uses a 3D coordinate system to locate small targets inside the body and then perform an action, like an ablation, biopsy, injection, or implantation.

Staff at Orthoparc in the Netherlands have developed a method of patient-centered total knee replacement through Surgical Guides that helps make the surgery less invasive, removing the need to drill into the femur canal as in traditional knee replacement surgery procedures and simultaneously increase the comfort of patient. These surgical guides are produced using data gathered about an individual patient’s knee and are fabricated in-house on a 3D printer. When placed upon the patient during surgery, they guide the surgeon to exactly where cuts need to be made in relationship to where the knee is resting.

A 72-year-old woman with sciatica and complex L5–S1 pseudoarthrosis 12 months after L2–S1 fixation surgery for symptomatic degenerative scoliosis required surgery to fix the complications, for which a surgical team approached her with 3D Printing. CT data from patient scans was used to develop models of the bony lumbosacral spine for pre-operative planning along with a patient-specific 3D printed titanium lumbrosacral fixation implant. 3D printing was also used to create a stereotactic drill guide. The sixth-month follow up showed promising results as explained by the team of Australian researchers.

The PAMIS project aims at improving scoliosis surgery through the development of 3D Printing Technology. Using 3D scans of the patient’s spine, patient specific implants can be 3D printed, using lightweight, biocompatible materials and used for Scoliosis surgery. CITD, a Spanish engineering company, has taken over PAMIS Project with plans to further revolutionize the technology with their expertise in additive manufacturing for healthcare.

7-year-old, Isaiah Onassis Goberdhan was diagnosed with an aggressive tumor in his palate and nasal cavity that caused him breathing difficulties. Using Formlabs Technology, Neha A. Patel, MD, a Northwell pediatric otolaryngologist at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, was able to plan the surgery with 3D Printed anatomical model of Goberdhan using CT and MRI scans. Onassis Goberdhan has now successfully recovered without complications after the surgery planned with 3D Printing.

Two Maxillofacial Surgeons, Clossman and Houlton from VA Puget Sound Health Care Center, with help from radiologists using CT scans, created exact replicas of three patients’ mandibles, using the hospital’s Stratasys 3D printer. These models allowed the surgeons to compare standard mandibular implants to the 3D printed replicas, adjusting the size and shape as needed. The 3D printed custom mandible models was made in 2hours with OR time estimated at about $80 a minute, avoiding anesthesia workup and surgery planning.

Ramiah Martin, Susquehanna Valley, PA, was born with a rare medical condition called the Tracheal Agenesis, which left her without trachea and improperly formed esophagus. The doctors at Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital used 3D Printing Technology to create a 3D Print Model of her esophageal passage and plan the surgeries ahead of time when she was 4 months old. Although she may require further interventions in future, the kid has been discharged with ventilator support at age of 13 months.

Biodonostia Health Research Institute, a medical research institute in Basque, Spain, recently partnered with Tecnun, a specialist division of the Universidad de Navarra, and Tknika, a regional Research and Applied Innovation Center for Vocational Education and training, in order to help its surgeons harness FDM 3D printing technology from Stratasys to help in surgical preparation and planning. With the help from partnership, the surgical teams can receive highly accurate 3D printed medical models, made with Stratasys’ FDM technology, within 24 hours which can help patient care by reducing the amount of time patients spend in surgery, especially surgeries for complex thoracic wall tumors.

A research conducted at The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in Zhejiang, China, provides insights to the use of 3D Printing in medical field. 48 patients suffering from distal radius fractures (one of the most common type of upper body injuries) participated in the study, with a 3D model made of each break using CT scans and Mimics software before being 3D Printed in PLA. The research concluded the advantage with more accurate diagnosis and surgery, faster procedure time, less blood loss in patients, and frequency of intraoperative fluoroscopy.

Argentina’s 3D Printing Community recently received first Stratasys J750 in December 2018 at the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires (ITBA) University, of which 8 3D Printers can be accessed by students and faculty any day of week in facility. The Stratasys J750 PolyJet 3D printer is designed to carry out surgical simulations, medical preparations, surgical guides and development of final products for industrial use. The university also aims to direct their innovative student’s minds towards building prototypes for some of the famous companies like Techint.

Researchers at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) are working on improving the Rhinoplasty, a surgery of nose resconstruction, with the help of 3D Printing. Using the facial editing software to plan the surgery, and then converiting it to files for modeling and 3D Printing, followed by filling of hydrogel with patient’s cells and injecting into 3D Printed nasal implant. This whole process offers advantages such as shorter, comfortable and streamlined procedure with much accuracy in hand.

Researchers at the Istituto Orthopedico in Rizzoli, Bologna made an attempt to improve on current methods for making tissue repairs and replacement by creating 3D Printed Meniscus Prototype. Using the real MRI Scans and converting them to .stl file, then proceeding to create a model from which to make the meniscus prototype and resulting scaffolds. The researchers used the 3D printed model of the knee to assist in reconstruction of the meniscus. They used a series of 2D cross sections to create tool paths, using LifeInk 200 bio-ink as the material for printing cells, and then 3D Printing the final product of Meniscus Prototype.

A Team of Researchers at the University of Toronto (UoT) and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre unveiled a handheld 3D Skin Printer that dispenses Bioink composed of Mesenchymal Stromal cells to place skin over Severe Burns and during Surgeries. It can also cover Split Thickness Burns, and the current prototype includes a single-use microfluidic printhead to ensure sterilization and a soft wheel that follows the track of the printhead, allowing for better control for wider wounds. Enzymatically and thermally gelled fibrin and collagen biomaterials are used to finish up the Skin 3D Printing and Layering.

A team of Researchers in Costa Rica worked on a 3D Printed Medical Device that can be used to Suture skin uniformly and quickly with the scar left behind being aesthetically acceptable. The Class 2 FDA Electronic Medical Device was created using SOLIDWORKS Software based on three functions: Stabilize the skin, Rotate the needle on its axis to join tissue sections and Initiate and finish with the least possible amount of user interference. The first prototype was 3D Printed using Polyjet technology and AISI 316L alloy. Upon further surveys, they modified the final prototype to “improve its ergonomic factor” by adding a holder at the top of the shell for more stability and easier manipulation.

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.

Researchers from China’s Zhejiang University used 3D Printing to study Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Connection (APVC), an uncommon congenital anomaly in which pulmonary venous blood flows directly into the right side of the heart or into the systemic veins. 3D printing of the personalized heart models was completed via an ISLA 650 3D printer (Shining 3D, China). Each patient-specific heart model took around half an hour to two hours to model, with 3D printing requiring anywhere from two to five hours. Surgeries were performed on all 17 patients, and each procedure was successful.

Scientists from US and China collaborated on a study to integrate Virtual and 3D Printing Applications into postoperative treatment of cancer. They shared 5 Cases of: Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma; 3 × 3 cm Right neck mass discovered during examination for a stroke; 5.0 × 4.5 cm Mass in left cheek- Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma; 2.5 × 3.5 cm left Gingival Squamous Cell Carcinoma and 5 cm left Sub-Mucosal Oral Cavity Lesion. They explained how 3D Printing assisted with CAD/CAM and Virtual Reality assisted them in creating medical models prior to surgery and planning better outcomes.

Researchers from the Department of Orthopaedics Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital, and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, China, used 3D Printing to reduce the blood loss and surgery time in Hip fracture cases. 7 patients were assessed over a five-year period from 2012-2017, with 3D printed models created for treatment and surgical simulation. CT data was used to create 3D models of each patient’s fracture followed by trochanteric osteotomies, along with simulating intraoperative reduction and fixation techniques using the models fabricated using 3D Printing. The authors confirmed that with the use of the 3D Printed Model, they were able to reduce time in the operating room, and blood loss, but require further studies to confirm it.