Medical 3D Printing & BioprintingDr Varun Tyagi is a medical doctor who practices in India and writes about remarkable and historical landmarks throughout the medical world. Dr Varun believes that 3D printing can help democratize medical care, making medical devices affordable and available to everyone on the planet.
Additive Industries, established in 2012, emerged in RAPID 2016 with it's MetalFAB1 3D Printer targeting to revolutionise metal 3d printing. With capability of 10-fold metal production, the company seeks feedback from customers to find if it the hype is a cannonball or a belly flop.
Leading 3D Printing companies are already using Bio-inks, when Israeli company, CollPlants has different plans. Plant-based RhCollagen is totally new to 3D Printing market, especially after it is backed up by Israel's Ministry of Economy by 1.4 million USD.
With Crown Prince of Dubai at opening, World saw it's first 3D Printed office. This 2,600-square-foot, single-story, multi-building campus was designed by Gensler for the United Arab Emirates National Committee as the headquarters for the Dubai Future Foundation.
With the help of 3-D Printing, researchers are now able to simulate laparoscopic surgery of choledochal cyst removal model. Under the supervision of 10 delegates, researchers at King's College Hospital, London, this method saw its first trial. The procedure involved a complex series of digital hepatic anatomy images and standard laparoscopic trainer dimensions.
e-NABLE announced it's Think. Imagine. Make. Enable (T.I.M.E) challenge on May 30. With wonderful responses, e-NABLE selected three winners after 3 judges reviewed them and look forward to test the winner prototypes. This trend is worth praising in developing and delivering the 3D printing technology to every corner.
A newly diagnosed brain cancer has poor prognosis, but Dr. Shu and Dr. Leslie at Heriot-Watt University believe their research can be the landmark of future. Lab growth cancer cells are useless, but 3D printed cancer cells can mimic body environment. This can help this team discover more effective and responsive treatment for brain cancer.
Powered with one of most advanced 3D printers, 3D Life is providing medical models to doctors and students in Greece. These high quality models help doctors save many lives each year with pre-diagnostic expertise.
Dubai had it's future office 3d printed recently, and now it is looking for medical field to be taken care by 3D printing technology. The Dubai Health Authority announced to create prosthetic limbs for patients for less than Dh400(108.9$) and develop printable ceramic teeth in less than 20 minutes around 2025. The Authority believes 3D printing will accelerate patients’ healing process by up to 80 per cent.
Stereolithographic (SLA)3D Printers have been used by UCL School of Pharmacy and FabRx Ltd researchers to develop anti-acne masks which can deliver the topical salicylate for acne. Using 3D scanner to print nose, and then creating 3d print, this face mask will load salicylic acid topically, providing patients with quick and affordable treatment for acne.
Scottish scientists from the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh have successfully 3D printed a brain tumor including the Glioblastoma. They believe it will help them develop treatment plans to help 250,000 cancer sufferers worldwide.
Amy Karle, a media artist, is prototyping a hand after she wished an exoskeleton for herself. Working with bioscientist Chris Venter in Pier 9's Bio/Nano Lab and Autodesk materials scientist John Vericella, she is currently developing the hand using Stem cells and Ember printer.
Fuel3D was awarded £1.2M European Union’s Horizon 2020 for developing 3D scanning system for custom eyewear. This scanning system will allow gathering a customer's facial data in a single scan and using it to generate custom eyewear that is designed specifically for them.
Ira3D, Italian 3D Printing company, has just entered the 3D Printing market with it's abundance of Thermoplastic filaments targeted to revolutionize medical field. Irabs Bismuto, Gummify Skin, NYLON 680, Nylon Protesis, Nylon Protesis and IRA PP TALC are the special filaments set to harness the benefits of 3D Printing.
Surgeons in St. Thomas NHS copied live prostate to practice removal of cancerous gland while sparing the nerves. It is a historical breakthrough as copy of organ was used to practice the original surgery right before.
Copyright lawyer Mark Avsec, partner with Cleveland-based law firm Benesch, believe 3D printing need legal support for which he is currently working on. Since Ohio is becoming the epicentre for Additive manufacturing, designs need to be legalized and copyrighted for the boom of business sector.
Researchers at UPCI and CMU are planning to use 3D printed models for studying breast pre-cancerous disease. This will aid in avoiding over-diagnosis and over-treatment of the tumor by creating 3d bioprinted breast ductal structure.
Chinese University and the University of Hong Kong have introduced personalised models of complex heart structures using 3D Printing technology. The actual heart structure is first captured via ultrasound imaging, followed by the creation of a silicone model which takes two days. It has been applied on 3 patients, first being a 78 year old woman with several strokes. With this, doctors can now determine proper size of occluder.
Chinaplas held it's 30th Exhibition featuring 3D Printing at Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), China from 25-28th April. Amazed by 13.7% increase in visitors, the event had around 150,000 visitors in 4 days, the largest ever recorded. With 40 ground-breaking techs, it was termed a must-visit show.
With depleting fresh water and growing food wastage, Waste management companies of nations like UK had already started to shift towards 3D Printing for measures. The 3D printing technology is expected to cut this loss by 50% by 2025 with it's innovative recycling measures.
RAPID Conference was held at Orlando, US from May 17-19,2016. Many world-wide companies attended the conference with zeal and there were many medical gears worth eye catching, including the Titanium hip, Patient Specific device manufacturing and a Custom printed porous skull implant.
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.
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.
1 year-old Chen Chen from Yongzhou City, China, was diagnosed with rare skull deformity called Narrow Cranial Disease. Concerned about the intra-cranial pressure complications, Neurosurgeons approached to 3D Printing reconstruction, and Wu Shui Hua’s team was able to go into surgery.
After 3D printed hairs, MITs at cambridge had added further potential to them. These new 3D printed hairs are capable of interacting with environmentand have sensors in them.
Powder-based 3D printing of titanium often leads to increased porosity of final products and therefore, increased risk of breakage. To investigate this problem, researchers from Carnegie Mellon University and the Argonne National Laboratory inspected Ti-6Al-4V titanium and learned that as the titanium powder heats, gases trapped in the material can create pores. This issue has been established and yet to be fixed.
German Paralympian cyclist, Denise Schindler will be using 3d Printed leg prosthetic for 2016 Rio Olympics. AutoDesk will be providing her with replacement prosthetic, and she believes it is far better as previous plaster prosthetic was slow to produce and relatively expensive.
After meeting a horrible accident with a train, James Young, 22 year-old from london, lost his arm just to get a bionic arm for himself. This 4.5kg Cyborg arm, inspired from character Snake of game Metal Gear Solid, is multi-function with some being as battery power at backpack, mood lightings and laser torch.
Johnson and Johnson recently partnered with an HP subsidiary to develop medical and consumer products using 3D Printing. Although believed to be done under pressure after underperforming in Pharmaceutical, J&J is still looking forward to revive their company fortunes.
Group of at Texas A&M University designed an otoscope using 3-D printer which is far cheaper and willl greatly assist in diagnosing hearing losses around the globe. This otoscope, when plugged with smartphone, takes photos inside the ear. Smartphone usage is what makes the otoscope so cheap.
Nunavut amputee, Romeo Tucci, suffered frostbite in early April, and was left with two missing hands. With help from his sister, Christina, he approached World of 3D Printing company and will soon be receiving his 3D Printed hands as the parts have already been printed.
After losing his left leg in 2013 Syrian civil war, Asam Hasna decided to 3D print his prosthetic leg. However, working with MENA 3D, he discovered the potential of 3D printing technology. Today, he is the leader of ROW3D (Refugee Open Ware) organization.
While Alex, a military automative engineer, designed a cheap cost Vein finder for his girlfriend, it also became a breakthrough how effectiveness of 3D printing can not always mean cost. This Battery powered DIY device is easy to use and penetrates skin, fat tissue and oxygenated blood with ease.
FDA has issued draft guidance for 3D printed medical devices which includes recommendations for testing and characterisation. However, Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) added- “FDA says the guidance is not intended to address 3D printed products containing biologics, cells or human tissues" but FDA waits for public comments.
AIDS is one of the diseases where patients require to take many medications to keep up with increased immunity loss. To tackle the issue of carrying so many pills, nursing students of Caldwell University have developed a unique pillbox for such patients. While the course, they worked on their design with interim director of Jennings LIbrary Ellen Johnston.
Researchers at UTSA are planning to start printing organs by next year. Dr. Guda expresses how regenerating bones and muscle tissues would no longer be a dream in world of medical bioprinting, cutting off the donor's list criteria on large scale.
Nia Technologies, Canadian nonprofit which provides “3D PrintAbility” orthopedic solutions in developing countries, received over $1.5M CAD ($1.16M USD) by Grand Challenges Canada, Google.org, Autodesk Foundation, and Stronger Philanthropy. Already undergone preliminary testing in Uganda in 2015, Nia Technologies will now be helping 225 children and young people to walk with 3d Printed Prosthetics.
A team of fifteen students from Massimiliano Massimo Institute,Rome, made a 3-D printer which makes prosthetic hands from plastic waste, received blessings from Pope Fracis. These 3d Printers are going to Uganda and Congo to make new hands for people maimed in civil wars, accidents, and by disease after crowd-funding from Crowd4Africa
3D technology is able to print almost everything today, and Joints have just added to list. Although, they were discovered earlier, the new biocompatibility of these new joints structure is really worth-noting. Scientists at Mount Sinai Centre are already preparing the 3d printed joints that can mimic patient's own joints.
Scientists of Massey University, New Zealand, have developed 3D Printed Frog skeletons that will help the students learn anatomy. These skeleton and cartilage replicas were printed using a selective laser sintering 3D printer and will provide better approaches to anatomical dissections.
Titanium-Aluminum mixture has been used for 3D Printed Implants already, and have been effective so far. However, researchers from Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore (A*STAR) have developed Titanium-Tantalum mixture that is more potent that traditional Titanium-Aluminum mixture.