{"id":7588,"date":"2023-06-26T12:51:38","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T12:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.x-procad.com\/?p=7588"},"modified":"2026-02-16T21:19:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T21:19:48","slug":"3d-printing-in-the-medical-field-so-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.x-procad.com\/sr\/3d-printing-in-the-medical-field-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"3D Printing In The Medical Field (So Far)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">3D printing was first introduced to the medical field in the early 1990s and used for creating prototypes and basic dental implants and prosthetics. Since then, the technology\u2019s ability to handle complexity have evolved considerably, and so has its medical applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Visual Aid<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Remember when scientists mimicked a mummy (3000-year-old Egyptian Priest)\u2019s voice by recreating his vocal cords with a 3D printer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Looking beyond the video that became a legendary meme, the experiment itself displays how much 3D printing technology has developed over the years and how 3D printed models can accurately mimic a patient\u2019s anatomy and pathology. This \u201caccuracy\u201d has enabled surgeons to evaluate the risks and allow smoother and more efficient procedure flow. Take the 3D-printed kidney model, for instance. The model enabled a surgical team to safely plan an operation to successfully extract a kidney with a tumor, remove the tumor, and transplant the tumor-free kidney to the patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Not only do these visual models aid surgeons, but with it, surgeons can enhance the patient\u2019s understanding of the procedure and allow them to make a more fully informed decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Visual aids are not needed for every case. In fact, this might end up wasting resources, but in complex, riskier or ever rare cases such as that mentioned above, a 3D printed visual aid can save lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Personalized Surgical Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">When thinking of 3D printing, there is a common misconception that it is just a prototyping tool. The medical field is an industry that is leveraging the transformative capabilities 3D technology offers by using it to develop personalized surgical instruments (end-use tools) to improve surgical processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">2021 marks the year 3D technology supported the world\u2019s first successful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.materialise.com\/en\/press-releases\/3d-support-world-first-double-hand-face-transplant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">double hand and face transplant.<\/a> In such a time-critical procedure, much success was owed to the personalized 3D printed tools. 3D printed surgical tools, that offers \u2018personalization,\u2019 are evidently game changing. Take the hip cup removal case for instance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/hlhrapid.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Screenshot-2022-02-16-at-12.53.19-PM-1024x605-1.png\" alt=\"3D Printing In The Medical Field (So Far)\" class=\"wp-image-1071\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">image by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.endocon.de\/endocon-specialist-instruments-arthroplasty.html\">endocon GmbH<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">A typical hip cup removal procedure lasts around 30 minutes and is performed with a chisel. This chisel, however, can risk damaging the patient\u2019s bone and tissue, resulting in an uneven surface and the insertion of a new implant even more difficult. Seeking to improve this process, endocon GmbH 3D printed a hip cup removal surgical tool using a biocompatible material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The tool\u2019s additively manufactured blades allow more precise cutting and removal of the cup within 3 minutes. With the use of these 3D printed blades, the rejection rate reduced from 30% to around 3% and the cost per blade reduced by approximately 40%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Patient-Specific Parts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Prosthetics and implants are such personal items. Each one has to be custom-made, made to fit an individual\u2019s needs. The ability to create patient-specific parts is another benefit of 3D printing in the medical field. The list below highlights a few patient-specific parts created over the last decade. They are testament that 3D printing is more than just a prototyping tool (in the medical field).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">2012 \u2013 An 83-year-old woman gets the world\u2019s first 3D-printed jaw transplant<br>2016 \u2013 World\u2019s first 3D-printed titanium cranial implant<br>2017 \u2013 Doctors in France develop the first patient-specific 3D printed airway stents<br>2018 \u2013 First ever successful use of a patient-specific 3D printed talus implant in a trauma case<br>2019 \u2013 World\u2019s first 3D-printed middle-ear transplant restores the hearing of a patient with conductive hearing loss<br>2021 \u2013 British patient receives world\u2019s first 3D printed prosthetic eye<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">Bonus: it\u2019s been over a decade since a human bladder was successfully 3D printed and transplanted and has ever since shown long-term viability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size wp-block-paragraph\">The examples in this blog presents a small portion of the developments and applications of 3D printing in the medical sphere. The possibilities with 3D printing are endless.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>3D printing was first introduced to the medical field in the early 1990s and used for creating prototypes and basic dental implants and prosthetics. Since then, the technology\u2019s ability to handle complexity have evolved considerably, and so has its medical applications. Visual Aid Remember when scientists mimicked a mummy (3000-year-old Egyptian Priest)\u2019s voice by recreating [&hellip;]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[57,53,54,48,49,52,95,50,77,76,78,73,69],"class_list":["post-7588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-applications-case-studies","tag-3d","tag-3dprint","tag-3dprinting","tag-cad","tag-mechanical-engineering","tag-plastic","tag-print","tag-production","tag-prototype","tag-prototyping","tag-rapid-prototyping","tag-tool","tag-tools"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>3D 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