In healthcare, it’s the elusive breakthrough to a cure for diseases like cancer that has us all hoping. But sometimes it’s the bit-by-bit advancements, rarely getting headings, that make for greater impact. 3D printing, which was not yet a medical technology, is now a disruptive force within the healthcare industry.
3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing allows for the creation of physical objects using three-dimensional digital models. Although it was a futuristic concept, 3D printers have become a common sight in universities, high schools, libraries, and labs. They also can be found in an amazing array of high tech companies that make medical devices and even body parts.
3D printing technology was first adopted by hearing aid manufacturers. After creating a mold from silicone, a 3D scanner can create a digital model. A 3D printer prints the model and then the hearing aid components are installed. The whole process takes less than one day.
Does that sound impressive? That’s just the start. These are just a few of the amazing stories about 3D printing in medicine.
A 20-month-old baby was treated with a 3D-printed biodegradable, biodegradable windpipe in 2012 to treat a rare condition that causes weak and collapsing airway walls.
The technology can be used to repair skull injuries. A 22-year old woman from the Netherlands, suffering from a bone disorder, had her entire skull replaced by a 3D-printed implant in 2014. After the 23-hour surgery, she felt completely cured and was able to return to work three months later.
The first titanium 3D-printed jaw was not just for the young. An 83-year old woman with a chronic infection of her jaw was the beneficiary. Reconstructive surgery would take 20 hours and be too risky for her age. Her doctors took only four hours to perform the surgery. She was able speak and swallow normally within a day and could return home in four days.
Heart disease and heart defects can be treated. Customized heart valves can be made using precise bioprinting technology. This is a medical wonder.
Printing whole organs is not an impossible dream. They became reality almost ten years ago when the first kidneys and livers were made. They are still only used to test the feasibility of these devices. However, the first step to fully functioning organs is the creation of 3D-printed blood vessels. These have been successfully implanted in animals.
There are many people who wait for organ transplants, and there are ethical issues with animal testing. It is impossible to make progress fast enough.
Amazing innovations are also being developed in other areas of medicine. A new treatment for severe burns is possible using 3D-printed skin tissue that has been infused with stem cells. Researchers have developed microscopic objects, which can be tracked in blood vessels, the digestive biome, and reproductive systems. This allows researchers to make advances in drug delivery.
It won’t be long before we see 3D printers spitting out exact replicas of teeth, leaving drills and fillings to the history books.
3D printing is even getting stylish. Prosthetic limbs were once about providing functionality for someone who had lost an arm or leg. A digital model can recreate the exact shape of the missing limb. What will it take for the mechanicals to be embedded in a natural-looking shell with the touch, sensory and tactile characteristics of skin?
Although 3D printing isn’t a cure for all cancers, it is a reminder of the unexpected solutions that can sometimes be found.
W. Gifford Jones, a Harvard Medical School graduate, is a doctor at the University of Toronto. For more than 40 years, he specialized in gynecology, devoting his practice to the formative issues of women’s health.