medical

Technology has always been an inseparable part of the healthcare sector. 

What? You can 3D print hair to cure baldness? Can this possibly be real? 

Two questions came to mind when I saw reports of a home-3D printed brace to support a broken wrist.

A project using 3D Platform equipment has successfully developed an interesting new 3D printing application: custom fit ankle foot orthosis, or “AFO”s. 

3D printing is helping many individuals to lead fulfilling lives through their use of prosthetics. 

A report from China News Service describes how a three-year old received a new 3D printed skull. 

It’s a headline that would not have made any sense a few decades ago, but it’s true: a DJ needs a new 3D printed foot. 

Organovo has announced the full commercial release of the exVive3DTM Human Liver Tissue for preclinical drug discovery testing. 

A New Zealand designer has created a way to develop highly personalized 3D printed prosthetic noses. 

Medical students have learned anatomy and practiced surgery using cadavers for centuries. Now that doesn’t always have to be the case. 

In conjunction with MHOX Design, CRP Group has created bespoke orthosis to correct misaligned limbs.

Researchers at the Australian National University have created an inexpensive 3D printed lens that can attach to a smartphone and detect some skin diseases.

Detection strategies based on nanowire offer a promising new route towards rapidly detecting diseases such as cancer. I recently reported on the successfully integration of 3D printed components with nanosensor technology in the medical journal, Point-of-Care.

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.

In a report delivered to the American Chemical Society, Harvard researchers state they’ve created a printed tissue that mimics natural heart muscle – working in a petri dish and when implanted in animals.

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

3D Print UK reports they’ve been working on a special project that has been able to provide limited sight to the vision impaired.    The concept is to simplify the visual field by displaying a coarse set of pixels on the inside lenses of a pair of prototyped glasses, done, of course, with 3D printing.… Continue reading 3D Printing Helps the Blind See

A group at Harvard is hoping their Midas Touch project will enable blind people to appreciate art. The project will convert 2D artwork, such as a painting, into a 3D shape. The 3D shape can then be explored with touch by the blind to gain an understanding of that piece.    At this point the… Continue reading Midas Touch Helps Blind “See”

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

It’s always a thrill to see an object emerge from a 3D printer. The object, previously visible only as an intangible digital model displayed poorly on a 2D screen is suddenly in your hand.    But imagine the thrill if that object being printed was intended to literally be part of you.    That’s precisely… Continue reading Real 3D Printed Ears. No, Really!

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

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?

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

The Foundation for Orthopedic Reconstruction (FOR) is the culmination of two years of planning that heralds an exciting undertaking for the orthopedic and additive manufacturing communities. FOR was developed with a dual mission: To provide patient-specific medical implants at no cost to those in need and to encourage and fund innovative research within the orthopedic… Continue reading Foundation Offers Help and Hope to Victims of Orthopedic Trauma

There’s nothing like being able to hold something in your hand and inspect it. You can look from all angles close or far and can use your sense of touch to aid in understanding completely what you’ve got.   That’s exactly the approach Hawaiian neurosurgeons at the Tripler Army Medical Centre are taking. They’re able… Continue reading Neurosurgeons Are 3D Printing

Some of us require special orthopaedic implants to correct the scourge of “flat feet”, and as such they must be custom-made to fit each person’s foot. You might think this is a perfect candidate for 3D printing technology, which can produce customized implant shapes on demand. This is precisely what EOS has done with their… Continue reading Laser Sintered Orthopedic Implants

We ran across a fascinating video showing a bio-printing concept being researched at the Biophysics Lab of the University of Missouri-Columbia. According to Dr. Gabor Forgacs, they will be able to replicate human parts by creating new organs cell by cell in a manner similar to everyday 3D printing.  Here’s how it works:   “Spheroidal… Continue reading Human Organ Printing