Introduction:
It is no secret that technology made incredible advancements in recent years, and healthcare witnessed major ones. While seen as separate entities, healthcare and technology are now colliding, creating what’s called a symbiotic relationship. This aspiring connection between the technology and healthcare fields promotes growth, inclusivity and expansion at a highly rapid rate. Nowadays, undeniably, one of the technologies that we all appreciate is 3D printing. With all these surprising objects and the great fine details, and in today’s article we will discuss medical 3D printing. But the real question here: Can we benefit from this in healthcare or is it a just fancy piece of engineering like any other invention?
By the end of this article, you will know the following:
- What is 3D printing, 3D printing’s mechanism of action, 3D printing multiple uses?
- When did 3D printing first make its mark in the medical field, and how has it evolved over time?
- Can this technology revolutionize the creation of implants, prosthetics, and even organs tailored to individual patients?
- What are the latest 3d-printed medical devices?
- How does 3D printing bring a new level of precision to the patient-specific implants industry, and what benefits does this offer?
- Do you know what Stereolithography is?
Overview of 3D Printing:
Three-dimensional (3D) printing is the process of additive manufacturing that creates a touchable object from a digital design or concept. The process works by laying down thin layers of material. This material can be liquid or powdered plastic, metal or cement, or etc. Then fusing the layers together.
Since it was introduced to the market, 3D printing has already increased manufacturing productivity. Due to being mostly an automated process, it can contribute a lot in the field of mass production In the long-term, and it has the potential to massively contribute to the manufacturing inventory industries, . That’s why it can contribute in 3d printed medical devices. We will dive into more details of 3D printing in a few lines later.
Overview of 3D Printing in Medicine:
The integration of 3D printing into the field of medicine has guided a revolutionary era, redefining the way we approach patient care, surgical procedures, and healthcare itself. From making patient-specific implants and prosthetics to pushing the limits of organ and tissue regeneration, 3D printing promises a lot in medical innovation, not just advancements, but an example shifts in personalized healthcare delivery and treatment modalities.
When and how did 3D printing enter the medical field?
Despite its recent popularity, 3D printing has existed for more than 35 years, with the inception of the concept tracked back to 1976, while the first application of it came in the early 1980s.
Early stages (1980s-1990s):
- 1980s: The first prototype involved creating anatomical objects for medical students and surgeons to practice on. This enhanced their understanding of complex or complicated structures as well as surgical planning. In this period, Charles Hull invented stereolithography, a process which lets you create 3D models using digital data.
- Early 1990s: The technology advanced to create customized prosthetics for individual patients, offering better fit and function compared to off-the-shelf options that lacked customizability.
- Mid-1990s: 3D-printed implants made of biocompatible materials like titanium, paving the way for personalized solutions in reconstructive surgery.
Evolution and expansion (1990s-Present):
- Late 1990s and 2000s: Further advancements enabled the creation of patient-specific surgical models based on medical scans. This helped surgeons develop a concept of complex procedures and improve surgical and the ability to pre-visualize them. In those times, the world witnessed the first 3D printed organ. scientists at Wake Forest Institute, created an artificial bladder.
- 2000s onwards: Research and development accelerated, leading to applications in various fields:
- Dentistry: Printing customized dental implants, crowns, and bridges.
- Tissue engineering: Printing biocompatible structures for tissue regeneration and organ transplantation, and as surprising as it can be, but in this year researches were able to “3D print” the first functional brain(1)
- Medical devices: customizable 3d-printed medical devices like hearing aids, prosthetic limbs, and surgical instruments.
What are the types of 3D printing used in the medical field?
There are many types of 3D printing in the market, but not all of them are used in medicine.
The major types used in medical 3D printing include:
1.Stereolithography:
(SLA or SL; also known as vat photopolymerization) is a form of 3D printing technology used for creating mockups, prototypes, designs, and production parts in a layer-by-layer way of action using photochemical processes and then light chemical monomers cross-link together to make up a polymer. Those polymers then make up the body of a three-dimensional object.
How does SLA work?
Stereolithography is an additive manufacturing process that works by focusing an ultraviolet (UV) laser on to a vat of photopolymer resin. With the help of computer software, the UV laser is used to draw a pre-programmed design or shape on to the surface of the photopolymer vat.
Some of the exciting applications of stereolithography in the medical industry is in drug development and testing. SLA can be used to create highly accurate and complex microfluidic devices; these devices are essential for the quick screening of new drug compounds.
In trauma surgery, for example, a tailored implant for facial reconstruction can be obtained by imaging the healthy undamaged side of the face and reproducing its mirror image by stereolithography.
Other applications of stereolithography include the development of tablets, microneedles, dental prosthetics, and medical devices and many other 3d printed medical devices.
2. Selective Laser Sintering:
(SLS) is a powder-based additive manufacturing technique that uses laser as the power and heat source to sinter this powdered material, aiming the laser automatically at points in space defined by a pre-designed 3D model, and then stack layer by layer to form a printed part based on this pre-designed model then binding the material together to create a solid structure.
The powder quality significantly affects the performance of SLS sintered parts and thus the powder design and preparation are the core technology for SLS. This powder material can be nylon or polyamide. SLS 3D printing has been a widely popular choice for engineers and manufacturers for decades now. That’s because of its low cost, high productivity, and established materials make the technology perfect for a range of applications from rapid prototyping to small-batch, bridge, or custom manufacturing.
Same as Stereolithography, SLS has many medical applications that are used up today, including hip cups, knee trays, dental crowns, and hearing aids, but as like any other tech, SLS has its own pros and cons compared to stereolithography.
Challenges and Ethical Considerations of 3D printing:
- The range of materials suitable for 3D printing in healthcare is relatively restricted. While there is ongoing research into widening the material spectrum, certain medical-friendly materials may still be unavailable for 3D printing.
- 3D Printing Process Is Not Eco-Friendly, as 3D printing is intensive in two vital resources, plastic and energy. If you as a manufacturer wants to go green, 3D printing will make those plans harder to follow. Medical device manufacturers wanting to work with 3D printing will have to either accept these environmental costs or look for an alternative.
- Inconsistent Quality of the results, 3D printers don’t always produce top-quality results. 3D-printed objects can vary slightly in dimensions, and in most cases this needs to be adjusted by a worker before the parts would be allowed to come into contact with patients. As a result, if a design error causes a 3D printer to make the same mistake on a set of several hundred or thousands of devices, you will need to undergo a huge amount of extra labor to fix those mistakes, and no extra labor is cost-free.
- Healthcare is tightly regulated in most countries, and that’s logical. In the US, healthcare is regulated by the FDA. However, orthopedic implants or prosthetics once approved, they are the end products of the medical 3D printers. They are not on the printers themselves, and there’s a difference. The FDA regulates the end products, but currently there are no laws regulating printer design, durability, if they’re medical grade, etc. Until then, healthcare facilities and research organizations take a risk when using a 3D printer on their own. And it’s a high one both in lives and liability. Using the example above, the hospital would have to deal with any lawsuit from any error or mistake encountered by any patient.
Conclusion:
3D printing has ignited a healthcare revolution, offering personalized implants, prosthetics, and even a peak on bio-printed organs. Improved patient outcomes, faster recoveries, increased accessibility and customizability are just some of its promises. However, material limitations, environmental concerns, and regulatory gaps demand attention. Collaborative efforts can overcome these setbacks, unlocking the full potential of 3D printing to reshape healthcare and offer more medically hopeful futures for generations to come.
References:
(1): First brain tissue made by 3D printing
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