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.
GuardLab, a 3d scanning mouthguard company, announced "Joey Bats" Bautista as their new brand ambassador and athlete to advisory board. One of the brands is Lower Performance Mouthguard, a unique neuromuscular guard, developed with the help of two world-class dentists using proprietary methods.
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.
U.S Food and Drug Administration has approved 3d printed drug for the first time. Aprecia pharmaceuticals 3D printed Spiritam, generic of levetiracetam, which will be used to treat epilepsy. This 3D printed drug is made by ZipDose technique, with better solubility.
Italy’s National Institute of Rome Tumori Regina Elena, Cancer surgical center, became the first hospital in the nation to use customized titanium implants to repair bones damaged by bone cancer (Osteosarcoma). The prosthetic implants were 3D printed in titanium using an Arcam electron beam melting (EBM) process with Sicily-based 3D printing services provider Mt. Ortho.
Nano Dimensions ltd announced today that they filed a patent application with US for printing of shielded conductors combined in a Printed Circuit Board (PCB). They have developed a 3d printing method that creates printed sheaths to shield conductors like insulated cables.
Scientists are now working with Computer simulation and 3D Printing to develop faster and safer ways of testing medical devices without actually installing them in live humans. Since these medical devices for heart and vascular diseases will be tested on 3D Printed models, the long list of Animal testing, Clinical trials and FDA approval will be surpassed.
Daniel Hobbs, 11 year-old was born with congenital absence of his lower left arm for which his parents approached to prosthetics but were upset with prices and constant fitting changes. However, 3DSystems and Intel designed them $400 3d Printed Prosthetic Hand which weighs less than 2 pounds and comes in 16 movable pieces.
Amedica Corporation, a company that develops and commercializes silicon nitride ceramics as a biomaterial platform, has announced its product- Robocasting. Robocasting is a freeform fabrication technique for dense ceramics, sinters within 24 hours while also allows custom fabrication of bone scaffolds suited for cellular differentiation and neovascularization.
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.
Médecins Sans Frontières, aka Doctors Without Borders are planning to use 3D Printing and Virtual reality technologies for organization setup field hospitals. The 3D Models and Virtual Reality reproduction of a recently designed facility in Cantahay, Philippines for 2013 typhoon victims was first of the project.
Frankie Flood, professor at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM), is working on "Next Step" with help of three of UWM students. Next Step is a project that involves the creation of a 3D printable prosthetic leg covering to restore anatomical shape of the affected limb, to be customizable and to be 3D printable specifically for Veterans that intend to have leg prosthetic designed according to their personality.
Sheffield-based design company Fripp Design developed a process for 3D printing with silicone materials called Picsima, which received UK patent today. The Picsima silicone 3D printing process can be used to 3D print realistic prosthetic body parts using high-quality 3D scans, including noses, ears and even dentures.
Around 2014 Youbinoics announced about their Prosthetic hand which received quite an attention, and now it is here for just €1,200 and not €20,000, thanks to 3D Printers. It comes with flexing the finger and carpus tendons will trigger the hand and fingers to activate and Arduino microprocessor equipped.
Pluripotent cells are creators of almost every mature cell in body, including the keratinocytes and melanocytes of skin. Reprogramming these mature cells to obtain pluripotent cells, and ultimately using them to produce living tissue using living tissue, this can make Facial implants possible.
Since coral reefs are depleting, causing a great worry, 3D printed reef were implanted in the Persian Gulf, which sunk there in 2012. Scientists are now looking forward to 3D Print coral reefs made of porcelain coating to serve as real-like corals for ecosystem to be maintained.
Chinese doctors from People's Hospital of Jilin successfully performed an open heart surgery on a nine-month-old baby suffering from Congenital Heart Defect called a Total Pulmonary Venous Anomalous Drainage, using a 3D printed heart model to plan the surgery. A full-sized heart replica modeled the boy's cardiac structure which assisted for virtual surgery.
Sweden Team led by Paul Gatenholm at the Wallenberg Wood Science Center has discovered scaffolds to regenerate Cartilages using 3D printed technology. These 3D printed chondrocytes when implanted in living mice, resulted in cartilage production. The team is currently working to explore it's use in human clinical trials.
The Enable Community Foundation has challenged individuals to design a 3D printed sport-specific terminal device (TD) to fit an industry standard transradial prosthetic socket. The deadline for design submissions is July 31st, 2016 with winner getting $750 which will be judged on points system.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University (Israel) have managed to engineer a Nanotech ‘heart patch’ which could enable remote monitoring and regulation of a patient’s heart. Currently replacing the infarcted heart muscle, it is worked upon to sense acute attacks and deliver drugs instantly in response to heart damage.
An adolescent girl suffering from Tracheobronchomalacia, a rare congenital breathing disorder, recently underwent a surgery at CS Mott Children's Hospital, receiving the 3D Printed Tracheal Splint. Using Polycaprolactone and MRI & CTs, Dr Glenn Green was able to print the Splint-supported Trachea.
Jonathan Grossman, an Industrial designer at global design firm Frog, San Francisco, designed a better nasal version of Nalaxone administering device which will auto-administer Nalaxone to Opoid victims. Since nasal version is first to respond to opoid overdose, Grossman used 3D Printer to beat the odds of previous versions with this Narcon Device.
iMcustom announced today the official launch of the first-ever 3D scanning and insole printing system. This system will move additive manufacturing (3D printing) inside of medical & retail stores nationwide giving consumers accurate 3D foot scans in minutes along with a personalized insole recommendation that can be 3D printed in the store, within 2 hours.
Students of Lynbrook High School’s Advanced Design and Innovation Class are studying 3D printing, and they’re using it to design adaptive and assistive devices for children, namely the children at St. Mary’s Hospital. Using the design and drafting skills, they are building devices like customized wheelchair trays, adaptive spoons, cause/effect toys and iPad stylus pens.
36-year-old Rajesh Ojha, a mechanic, lost four fingers of his left hand in 2015 while working in industrial plants, received a prosthetic through the experimental venture between Mumbai-based (India) Anatomiz3D Healthcare and Dr, Mukesh Doshi. The prosthetic modified was Gyrobot’s open source Flexy Hand 2 design produced after using a 3D printer and hand held scanner.
SLS 3D Ltd announced today partnership with Replica 3DM, at the launch of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Personalised Medicine at Portcullis House on Tuesday, 13th March 2016. Replica 3DM medical models are “carbon copies” of the refined DICOM data from CT/MRI scans which allow surgeons to carry out pre-operative planning.
Scientists from Imperial College London and the University of Milano-Bicocca have developed a material that can mimim Cartilage and potentially help it to re-grow. Consisting of silica and a plastic or polymer called polycaprolactone, this Bio-glass has cartilage-like properties including being flexible, strong, durable and resilient and planned for replacing damaged cartilage discs between vertebrae.
Students at Rutgers University-Camde, New Jersey, are working with bioprinters for the first time to develop scaffolds for tissues. They are characterizing the materials of scaffolding to determine how applicable they'll be with the cells used to create tissues. On other hand, David Salas-de la Cruz, an assistant professor of chemistry is interested in biodegradable biomaterials.
Surgeons at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital became one of the first children’s hospitals in the UK to use a 3D printed model as a surgical reference during an operation. Surgeons used a 3D printed model of a spine taken from a CT scan of an eight year old patient suffering kyphoscoliosis from Wales which was provided by 3D LifePrints and Materialise.
Researchers at University of North Carolina and North Carolina State University have developed a Prosthetic Implant that can be fitted as per amputee requirement and timing. These implants need t conform to patient's specific anatomy and require 12 month rehabilitation. However, FDA has not approved implanted prosthetic sockets for general use; but only for research purposes.
In the 50 Most Innovative Companies in World 2016, Fast Company has named Oxford Performance Materials in the list for their SpineFab® VBR implant system. It received 510(k) clearance from the FDA in July of 2015. OPM also provides third parties with contract manufacturing services for a wide spectrum of 3D printed biomedical implant applications.
The 3D Printed Sneezometer is a spirometer designed by University of Surry researchers to tackle lung problems before they occur. Being the cheapest and most-sensitive, it can measure speed of sneeze and measure lung capacity, helping to diagnose lung diseases like Asthma and Sleep apnoea.
Oceanz Professionals has become the first 3D Printing Company to receive ISO 13485 Certification. This certification remains valid for 3 years and is the medical version of "ISO 9001" which creates guidelines for medical device manufacturers.
Drage Josevski was diagnosed with Chordoma, a rare type of bone cancer, which grew in his spine. Dr. Ralph Mobbs of the Sydney Spine Clinic turned to medical device company Anatomics seeking help with this case, which finally produced 3D printed titanium implant that would replace the cancerous vertebrae. The operation took 15 hours and was successful one.
Metamason is the first company to 3D print CPAP masks, used for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. With $3M raised by seed funding from 3P Equity Partners, company is currently looking forward for FDA Clearance & Clinical Trials For 3D Printed CPAP Masks.
Researchers from University of California, San Diego, have developed Gas Delivery System for delivering inspired gas to research subjects in the MRI environment. Using SolidWorks, the team was able to model the Bypass Flow Attachment, then slice and prepare it in G-code using the MakerWare software that accompanied their MakerBot Replicator 2 printer.
Researchers at Denver University are currently working with a 3D bioprinter called BioBots after forming a partnership with Denver’s 3D Printing Store. This will allow them to create made-to-order replicas of organs, tissues and other parts, while they have already started printing custom replicas of heart valves using patients’ MRIs and CT scans.
Researchers at Brigham Young University have begun experimenting origami based 3D Printing to create miniature versions surgical tools. These surgical tools will allow surgeons to make such small incisions that no sutures are necessary for post-op healing.
Smith & Nephew, the global medical technology business, unveiled their new REDAPT™ Revision Acetabular Fully Porous Cup with CONCELOC™ Technology at American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting in Orlando. The entirely porous implant are 3D Printed to allow ingrowth while mimicking structure of cancellous bone with locking screws.
Jason Kim and Howon Lee, undergraduate students of Joseph Kohn Training Center, Livingston, 3D printed a set of maps for their university. Exclaiming- "Students have to memorize everything, because they can’t carry the map with them", they added the exploratory technology for the the blinds community.
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are working on 18-month study in collaboration with Autodesk Research, a 3-D design software company, to design the helmet that can prevent brain injuries suffered in sports. Experimenting on different materials for the Helmet, Silicone seems to be perfect for foam pads while they will continue to patent new discovering during the on-going project.