3D Printing Replaces Cadavers

Medical students have learned anatomy and practiced surgery using cadavers for centuries. Now that doesnā€™t always have to be the case. 

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Woman Receives 3D Printed Cranial Implant

For the past few years 3D printing has been making news in the world of medicine. From bioprinting sample organs for drug testing to creating custom prosthetics, additive manufacturing and 3D scanning are revolutionizing medicine.

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Harvard Researchers Print Functional Heart Tissue

In a report delivered to the American Chemical Society, Harvard researchers state theyā€™ve created a printed tissue that mimics natural heart muscle ā€“ working in a petri dish and when implanted in animals.

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Rehabilitating Lame Horses With 3D Printing

Readers may recall a story we did late last year in which custom titanium horseshoes were 3D printed for race horses in Australia. It turns out that this development was noted by Australian veterinarians treating horses afflicted with Laminitis, an inflammation in the area between the horse’s hoof and bone.    The idea was to… Continue reading Rehabilitating Lame Horses With 3D Printing

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3D Printed Skulls Help Teach Future Brain Surgeons

Brain surgery is notoriously difficult with surgeons spending years honing their craft. Given the need for more hands-on practice performing surgical operations, researchers at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur have created a 3D printed skull that can provide just that.   Using scans of each layer of the human skull, Vicknes Waran, professor… Continue reading 3D Printed Skulls Help Teach Future Brain Surgeons

3D Printed Bacterial Cages

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a new technique for studying bacterial growth through an ingenious use of 3D print technology.    The issue being solved is the study of bacterial growth. Present techniques involve petri dishes and similar vessels that, compared to a bacteria, are utterly massive. It is difficult… Continue reading 3D Printed Bacterial Cages

3D Systems Launches 3D Anatomical Service

3D printing giant 3D Systems announced the launch of their new Bespoke Modeling service. It’s a 3D model repository and sharing service, much like others that have emerged in recent years, but there’s a big difference here: this repository is focused on the medical industry.    Why the medical industry? Because there’s an increasing amount… Continue reading 3D Systems Launches 3D Anatomical Service

The State of Medical 3D Printing

Viktorija Samarinaite of CGTrader has published a detailed overview of the current state of 3D printing as applied to the medical and biological fields. The long post covers a wide spectrum of recent 3D printing medical miracles, including 3D printed hearing aids, dental work, prosthetics, casts, bioprinting and more.    We’ve covered most of this… Continue reading The State of Medical 3D Printing

3D Printing Spinal Implants

A new era of orthopedic surgery is taking shape at Peking University. Armed with an Electron Beam Melting (EBM) 3D printer, doctors are able to create titanium implants that fit perfectly with a patient’s body. Over the course of the last four years, Dr. Liu Zhongjun has been using EBM 3D printing to develop new… Continue reading 3D Printing Spinal Implants

The Perfect Cast is 3D Printed

Designer Jake Evill has done something good. Something truly amazing that could change the future. He’s produced a custom-fit 3D printed exoskeleton piece that can be used as a cast for broken limbs.    The “Cortex” cast is a sparse model that perfectly fits the exterior shape of the limb, while providing adequate support for… Continue reading The Perfect Cast is 3D Printed

Organovo 3D Prints a Human Liver

In a video report on CBC, Organovo CEO Keith Murphy describes his company’s latest achievement: 3D bioprinting portions of a human liver. Even more amazing is that the liver cells actually exhibit partial function.    Murphy says:   “Today we can print tiny parts of these organs…  About half a millimeter to a millimeter thick”.… Continue reading Organovo 3D Prints a Human Liver

Princeton Scientists Create Bionic Ear

One of the most difficult parts of integrating electronics with biological tissue is getting the numerous tissues and materials to meld. At a lab in Princeton, New Jersey scientists are making progress on this effort using 3D printing.   According to Michael McAlpine, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton, “In general,… Continue reading Princeton Scientists Create Bionic Ear

How 3D Printing Saved His Face

Eric Moger of the UK recovered from surgery to remove a tennis ball-sized tumor from under this skin of the left side of his face. Unfortunately, a large portion of his face had to be removed during the surgery, rendering him significantly disfigured.    All was not lost for Moger, as technicians were able to… Continue reading How 3D Printing Saved His Face

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3D Printed Human Replacement Parts Approved

Oxford Performance Materials announced that it’s finally received US Food and Drug Administration clearance for their OsteoFab™ Patient Specific Cranial Device. This is a 3D printed medical implant designed to replace missing bone structures.    The advantage of this approach, is of course that the replacement parts can precisely match the missing elements. Extreme personalization,… Continue reading 3D Printed Human Replacement Parts Approved

3D Printing For the Hearing Impaired

One of 3D printings greatest strengths is its ability to make customized, one-off products on the fly. In a traditional manufacturing paradigm, creating customizable products is an expensive if not impossible affair. So it should come as no surprise that the medical industry has been dramatically impacted by 3D printing.    While not technically a… Continue reading 3D Printing For the Hearing Impaired

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Would You 3D Print Your Foetus?

We all know what happens to 3D data: a 3D print emerges soon afterwards. Now a Japanese company has taken 3D information from a medical scanner to enable the production of 3D prints of an unborn foetus.    The process involves a 3D scan of the pregnant customer to capture the required 3D information, including… Continue reading Would You 3D Print Your Foetus?

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3D Printed Eyeglass Frames

Sandra Battistel of Eyespectacle (the “Story behind the frame”) has done a bit of investigation on how eyeglass maker Mykita recently produced the “Mylon”, a unique frame design made through 3D printing.    Battistel takes us through the process used by Mykita, including images of the equipment and frames through the production process. It appears… Continue reading 3D Printed Eyeglass Frames

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3D Printing Makes a Soldier Walk Again

One of the several tragedies of global conflict is those permanently maimed by explosions and weapons fire. One UK soldier, shot “above and through the knee”, has been unable to recover despite several reconstructive surgeries.    But now there’s new hope through the use of advanced 3D scanning, 3D printing and new surgical techniques.   … Continue reading 3D Printing Makes a Soldier Walk Again

Printing Vascular Structures

While rapid prototyping of mechanical parts is still the mainstay of 3D printing, recent adoption of the technology by biomedical researchers has sparked interest in how additive manufacturing might be used in the future.   Doug Hendrie at Gizmag recently profiled a new advancement that couples 3D printing with tissue engineering.   Read More at… Continue reading Printing Vascular Structures

Emma’s Story… And More

A wonderful story emerged last week when Stratasys published the story of Emma, a young girl with congenital biomechanical problems. She was unable to raise food to her mouth, among other issues.   The story told how Emma’s doctors used 3D printing technology (from Stratasys) to produce a custom-fit armature that fits around Emma’s upper… Continue reading Emma’s Story… And More