Category: 3-D Printing

  • 3D printed model for brain aneurysm surgery planning

    3D printed model for brain aneurysm surgery planning

    Stratasys and the Jacobs Institute have used 3D printing for brain surgery planning in an effort to reduce risk. Anatomical models of a patient’s entire brain vessel anatomy were 3D printed before she underwent an aneurysm procedure. The replica, built of a polymer that mimics human tissue, allowing the surgeons to plan their approach and practice…

  • Toward a 3D printed heart

    Toward a 3D printed heart

    Carnegie Mellon‘s Adam Feinberg is developing 3D printing techniques that could in the future be used to repair the heart.  This work is aimed at alternative solutions for the 4,000 Americans currently waiting to receive a heart transplant. Feinberg described his progress:  “We’ve been able to take MRI images of coronary arteries and 3-D images…

  • Faster, personalized, 3D printed heart models for surgery planning

    Faster, personalized, 3D printed heart models for surgery planning

    MIT and Boston Children’s Hospital researchers are converting heart MRI scans into 3D printed physical models,  for surgical planning,  in 3-4 hours.  Previously, the process took 10 hours. The project, which limits human input to increase accuracy, is led by Professor Polina Golland.  Physicist Medhi Moghari enhanced the precision of the MRI, decreasing the dependence on generic models,…

  • Cheap, accurate, 3D printed stethoscope

    Cheap, accurate, 3D printed stethoscope

    Dr. Tarek Loubani has created a 3D printed stethoscope that can be made for $2.50 – $5.00.  Stethoscopes usually cost $150 and are often not available in poor regions. Through his Glia Project, Dr. Loubani aims to provide cheap, accurate medical supplies, including stethoscopes, electrocardiograms, and pulse oximeters,  to places in need. “This is simple,…

  • Cancer patient receives 3D printed rib cage

    Cancer patient receives 3D printed rib cage

    For the first time, a chest wall sarcoma patient has received a  fully customized 3d printed sternum and rib cage portion, created using high resolution CT data. This part of the chest is difficult to recreate with traditional prosthetics.  Thoracic surgeons typically use flat and plate implants for the chest, which can loosen over time and…

  • 3D printed airway splints restore breathing

    3D printed airway splints restore breathing

    At the University of Michigan, three children under 2 with tracheobronchomalacia had 3D printed devices implanted to open their airways and restore their breathing. Professors Glenn Green and Scott Hollister were able to create and implant customized tracheal splints for each patient. The device was created directly from CT scans of their tracheas, integrating an image-based…

  • 3-D printed organs interlaced with blood vessels

    3-D printed organs interlaced with blood vessels

    MIT Technology Review Harvard professor Jennifer Lewis has created a patch of tissue containing skin cells and biological structural material interwoven with blood-vessel-like structures using a 3-D printer and “disappearing” ink. Lewis’s team created hollow, tube-like structures within a mesh of printed cells using an “ink” that liquefies as it cools. The tissue is built by…