3D Printing | Future Technology 500

3D Printing for Coronavirus Equipment

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May 032020

3D printed coronavirus swabs

If you spend any time at all reading the news at the moment, you’ll know that protective equipment is in short supply. Those on the front lines combatting the COVID-19 out break are often doing so with minimal protection and next to no realistic support. This is a big problem, and naturally is causing a lot of stress on the front line. However, it looks like we could be seeing a solution – thanks in large part to the usage of 3D printing devices.

Once derided as a toy that would only be used for needless gimmicks, 3D printers are showing their uses outside of creating figurines and novelty items. By ensuring that there can be enough access to needed medical equipment, 3D-printed supplies would help to solve both a limit in supply and an excess in demand. Various firms, from small companies and single entrepreneurs to multinational firms, are pushing hard to get 3D printers involved. The hope is that they can help to develop the needed number of face visors, masks, swabs, and ventilator parts that we need to make COVID-19 manageable.

Of course, this is something that comes down to the willingness of people to get involved. The development of the items and supplies needed to successfully defeat COVID-19 is going to come down to how effectively people are willing to work to solve the issue at hand. the important thing is that we can react quickly, and that we can turn the manufacturing process from weeks to days. This is what 3D printing is helping to solve at the moment – an underwhelming level of supply paired with a poor level of ability to meet demand.

Indeed, HP alone has been involved in the production of some 50,0000 products. This includes everything from facial shields to protective masks and even door handles that can be opened without using your hands. The aim is to try and make sure that 3D printed tools can help to limit the shortfall and ensure that people can have the chance to stay protected as they go about their daily duties.

However, the problem is that 3D printing devices aren’t going to be as strong as those which are made with a clinical process in mind. This means that limitations in safety and their efficacy in a medical set-up means that 3D printed supplies are, at present, a solid last resort. The hope that we could soon see mass 3D printing solve the problem might need to wait a while, as the FDA has made it clear that only a fraction of submitted 3D printed device applications meet standards.

Still, it’s another fine example of when innovation has stepped up to the plate to overcome the challenges involved in meeting 3D printing deman d.

Citation

https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/16/tech/coronavirus-medical-equipment-3d-printing/index.html

3D Implant Could Combat Cancer

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Oct 032018

For some time now, we’ve seen regular changes to the way we can combat illnesses such as cancer. Despite being one of the leading causes of death worldwide, overcoming something as powerful as cancer takes a huge amount of innovation and, in some cases, luck. However, thanks to the combined planning of SWRI and UTSA, we could see a major shift in battling cancer thanks to the development of a 3D-printed medical implant.

The researchers at both the Southwest Research Institute and The University of Texas at San Antonio have produced some hugely impressive 3D implants. The device, it is hoped, could be used to provide ailments to patients who are suffering from long-term conditions such as cancer, or even arthritis.

Albert Zwiener, the Project Co-Leader, said: “The implant addresses a specific patient’s illness in addition to their medical history and other health issues. We inject this non-invasive device into the body to deliver medicine over a significant period of time.”

For anyone undertaking drugs to deal with a health condition, they must take an amount that is built for their specific condition. However, those who need to take a specific dosage often need to do so with the help of a doctor or medical professional. With this solution, that need could be automated, with the exact amounts produced and used as needed during the day for the right dosage.

At the moment, the project is backed by the Connect program, which has invested around $125,000 into the project. The main objective is to support projects like this, as well as better enable proposals for peer reviewed research in the future.

A transformative step forward

The aim is to create the device using a specific 3D printer over at the UTSA grounds, that can be used to print our biodegradable material. Once treatment is finished, then, the little implant would dissolve naturally, further reducing the need for medical appointments to get it removed.

Also, it will be used to help work with localized immunotherapy, which will be used to help combat cancerous tumours. However, while this is being mostly marketed as a cancer combatant, the belief is that it will be able to provide access to just about any drug.

According to the other Co-Leader, Lyle Hood: “If clinically translated, this would allow for doctors and pharmacists to print specific dosages to meet patients’ needs. In immunotherapy, most strategies employ systemic circulation through an iv line, much like chemotherapy. This can cause issues with immune reactions far away from the intended target. We hope that by delivering locally, we can keep acute effects constrained to the diseased region.”

This comes as part of a growing wave of technology of this kind, producing hope that, in the long-term, we can make progressive adjustments to how we treat and handle illness.

3d Printed Models of Heart Help Surgeons Prepare for Surgery

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Apr 052018

3d Printed Heart

As one of the most difficult medical and surgical processes, the human heart transplant is a major challenge. The news, then, that a team of Wisconsin surgeons are working with a 3D printing firm to change that is entirely good news. These surgical experts are teaming up with engineering teams to get access to 3D-printed heart models. These models will be used to help a surgeon to prepare on a direct copy of their upcoming patient’s heart.

Aimed at helping to make pediatric heart surgery more likely to be a success, this is a positive move. The aim is to help make sure that there is a more specific accuracy with regards to the surgery outcome.

Speaking about the idea was Dr. Petros Anagnostopulous, the Chief Paediatric Cardiothoracic Surgeon at the American Family Children’s Hospital. A member of the University of Wisconsin Health faculty, too, he’s a major advocate of the idea. Speaking to WSAW.tv, he was very clear about the benefits this could bring.

Big Advantage

“The big advantage of the 3D printing is that you can recreate the heart. It’s the closest I’ve ever seen, some model — to the actual thing,” he said.

With the aim being to work on a printed version of the heart, the hope is that surgeons can vastly improve upon their accuracy for a specific patent. Already, one patient has benefited from this service – Joseph Oehlof, 6. Joseph was in need of a transplant after suffering from a rare heart condition.

Taken to the American Family Children’s Hospital for care, Dr. Anagnostopulous was able to carry out the treatment. He used a 3D model of the heart to help better prepare him for the challenging surgical scenario to come.

“There’s a lot of ability to see the relationship of the different parts of the heart as they are in real time. The 3D model prepares you better. The other thing it can do; it prepares your whole team better.” Dr. Anagnostopulous said.

Team Work

The developers of this unique technology are at the University of Wisconsin, too. Headed up by Alejandro Roldan Alzate, the Engineering Professor believes this is a major step forward for medical science. “When the surgeon can interact with a 3D printed heart before surgery, that helps a lot,” Alejandro said.

“What we have at UW as a benefit is that the medical school and the engineering school are just a bus ride away. All of the advances we have in engineering can be translated immediately in to the hospital.”

With the aim being to eventually take this into orthopaedic surgical practices, too, this could go very far. The hope is that, with the success of this practice, that other challenging parts of the human body will soon be fully accessible in preview form prior to the surgery taking place.

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