DigitFreak

Tag: printing

  • Growing medical applications of 3D printing – a patient’s ribs printed

    Growing medical applications of 3D printing – a patient’s ribs printed

    We have been following medical applications of 3D printing technology and just a few days ago we reported how researchers are working on regenerating fully functional nerves by using this technology. Another breakthrough in this field is the generation of a titanium rib and sternum structure using the 3D printing technology.

    Is 3D printing the next big thing or the next big bust

    A 54 years old Spanish patient suffering from cancer had a tumour in his chest due to chest wall sarcoma. To treat the patient, a part of the patient’s ribcage and sternum had to be removed. In such cases patients are generally implanted with titanium structure. However, due to the differences in the shape and size of the skeleton of every individual, such structures generally don’t fit properly and cause several complications.

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    Replicating an exactly same structure as the patient’s skeletal design and construct is highly complicated and even with the best of efforts it does not serve the purpose efficiently. To address this complication with the structural design, the surgeons of the patients at the Salamanca University Hospital in Spain worked with an Australian technology company named Anatomics to develop a titanium structure customised on the basis of the requirement of the patient. The developed structure was made of flat titanium plates and were printed to a high level of accuracy. The structure is highly similar to the original ribcage and sternum structures of the patient and has a very high level of accuracy in its design and size making it almost exactly similar to the patient’s skeletal structure.

    The details of the procedure was reported by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) which did the actual printing of the structure. Based on the original shape of the ribs, Anatomics analysed the CT scans of the patients and developed a model of the chest of the patient that included ribs, sternum and the tumour. Based on the model, the surgeons decided where the ribs would be cut. The model was sent to the 3D printing lab – “Lab 22” of CSIRO.

    The World s First D Printed T

    Lab 22 consists of a high power 3D printer worth US$1.3 million uses an electron beam gun capable of 3000 watts of power to forge and convert metal powder into 3D structures. Titanium melts at a temperature of 1650 Celsius and the electron beam melted it to form a 3D ribcage that was an exact match of the patient’s chest.

    The procedure was successful and the patient was discharged after 12 days’ observation. It is already over 2 weeks since the patient was discharged and is now recovering well.

  • Nerves regenerated using 3D printing technology

    Nerves regenerated using 3D printing technology

    3D printing technology has been improving exponentially and it was just a couple of months ago we wrote about its medical applications. In a recent report published in the journal “Advanced Functional Materials”, it has been reported that a research team led by Michael McAlpine a mechanical engineering professor of University of Minnesota has developed 3D printed nerves which can be customised and regenerated on requirement basis. 

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    What makes this nerve generation process special is that these regenerated nerves are capable of motor as well as sensory functions. The nerves have been printed using silicon and a 3D printed guide. Apart from Michael McAlpine from University of Minnesota who led the team; the research team comprised of members from several universities including Princeton University, Virginia Tech, John Hopkins University and University of Maryland.

    The research team generated silicon nerves for rates and used the process that is similar to reverse engineering. They severed nerves from rats and further created a guide to regenerate nerves and grafted it to the ends from which these were severed. The regeneration of nerves using this technology is quite complicated and requires a very high level of customisation to ensure that the generated nerve matches the inherent properties of the nerve it is supposed to replace. These properties include the shape, size, anatomy and geometrical structure of the original nerve. It is also very critical that the regenerated nerve must match the edges of the existing nerves to which it will be attached.

    3d nerve ending

    After an intense observation of the rats for 10 to 12 weeks, the researchers concluded that the implanted nerves have been functioning efficiently. The 3D printed nerves have tremendous applications. Not only these nerves act as the conduit between natural nerves by allowing blood to flow through them, these nerves also include several of the functions of natural nerves such as sensory functions and motor functions.

    Despite the advances in the technology, the 3D printing of nerves still remain a complex procedure. The research lead McApline stated that the nerves regenerated by his team is indeed a breakthrough and although scientists have in the past generated nerves using 3D printing methods, these nerves had very simple linear structures. The nerve generated by McAlpine’s team is a more complex “Y” shaped sciatic nerve that is capable of complex biological functions. 

    Though the researchers have been successful in animal trials, human trials might take time. However, if this technology can successfully been implemented, it will not be long before we might see 3D printers in hospital for generating artificial organs including nerves. The long term efficiency of these nerves is still to be monitored but it is indeed a giant leap for those suffering from neural disorders and presents a ray of hope for such patients.